Oh look, it's this thread again.
>>>>1516025>Building catenary would cost billions to construct and maintain and would save nothing due to transmission losses.This is true for a country like the US which doesn't have a uniform distribution and generation system. On the other hand, diesel costs are always climbing.
>>1516034>diesel electrics really are the superior choice for freightSteam locomotives are the really superior choice for freight. Diesel electrics are a close third after electrics.
>>1516038>BNSF 2009 study had electrification at 10 billion.I think this is due to Western cost disease. My country is currently in the process of fully electrifying its own railway network. In terms of route kilometers, we are a little longer than BNSF. Our costs are expected to be below 2 billion dollars.
I think a lot of this is because we already have a very dense network of high voltage transmission lines and power plants. This is not so for the US, where for many hundreds of miles in the midwest you often don't see a lot of big powerplants.
>>1516041lmao
>>1516165DE prime movers are not as efficient as coal generators. The difference isn't a lot (about 30% for the latest generation), but it is there, especially with diesel prices on a constant rise.
>>1516662They mostly don't. ECB is slightly better than coasting to a halt, but most electric rakes (especially freight rakes) will need to use air braking.
>>1517646Yes, but it is unusable outside of trainsets. If you want to recycle most of your rolling stock and only trade locomotives up, you cannot bank on ECB.
>>1520336What the fuck? If this is true, the average power consumption of UK homes is 1000 watt. Are they running arc welding shops in the basement?
