stevefol wrote: ↑Mon Mar 01, 2021 2:32 pm I'm sure a solution could be engineered for the price electrification is going to need. But to some of the comments above about the weight of batteries, are folks here aware of the advances of Li-Ion in the last 10 years? The success of Tesla has led many railroads to look again at the battery concept, and in Germany in particular, dual mode Electric/EMU/battery is being seriously evaluated. It is depressing reading the old "FRA rules" stuff - rules that were designed over 70 years ago before silicon chips even existed, and are the thing that keeps so much passenger railroading third world in the US.The FRA rules have more to do with crashworthiness especially in mixed use operation. Freight trains in North America are far larger than they are in Europe, so the standards in the US need to withstand higher potential impact thus need to be stronger. This results in more weight. As noted, the FRA has recently allowed for alternative concepts which allow some of the reduced weight.
My comment around weight and space is just that. An EMU without some kind of on-board power supply simply weighs less than "insert your carried mode of propulsion" - diesel/battery/hybrid/whatever. When comparing a battery locomotive to a diesel locomotive, battery technology just isn't there yet. It still has the weight and space drawback of a diesel engine. The only issue it solves is the noise/emissions, right now it is otherwise inferior in terms of actually delivering service regularly and will likely be for several years to come.