NS and BNSF studing Eletrification for 2012

I'm not sure if this is the right forum for this topic, but this is something that is at least a decade away.

An NS collaboration with PECO presents some interesting possibilities. The electrical grid has some pretty weak links across Pennsylvania and a transmission main along the right-of-way may provide some needed grid capacity. Any new catenary, however, will need to be high enough to allow for double-stack traffic. I'm not sure how many bridges would need to be raised to provide clearance for the double-stack plus the wires.

Also, for the really high voltage lines that would be needed for grid capacity, the utilities generally want a 300-foot wide right-of-way.

Railroads generally prefer undercutting (lowering the roadbed) over bridge-rebuilding when needing to obtain higher clearances. This is less expensive and requires less coordination with local municipalities.

There is no inherent conflict between double-stacks and wires, so long as the wire is strung above double-stack clearance. (This may require further undercutting, whenever feasible.) As an example, NS trains accessing the Trenton Cutoff have to clear under catenary at either end of the cutoff: to access the former Reading main line in Norristown, they must run through a station used by SEPTA's (electrified) commuter rail services; conversely, the connection on the eastern end is to the NEC--also under wire. These trains do not leave this alignment for some time--I believe Oak Point Yard (Port of Newark) would be their destination.

Remember that in the last couple of decades our railroads have invested considerably in creating double-stack-capable trunk mains; this has required rebuilding tunnels, undercutting at bridges, etc.; there's no reason our railroads can't use the same techniques to wire those same lines.