The next big technological breakthrough in railroading

[SouthernRailway]

I'm always on the lookout for companies doing the "next big thing", and I'm trying to think of what the "next big thing" in railroading could be. Other than BNSF powering locomotives with natural gas, how about the following?

Any other ideas, out of curiosity?

* Developing a way to do track inspections via a car that's hauled by a regular locomotive on a regular train--something like a caboose-type thing. The goal would be to have track inspections done at higher speeds, frequently and without disrupting the normal flow of traffic. Doing track inspections via regularly-operating trains couldn't cover everything that a track inspection is good for, but it would help save costs.

* Developing a way to cheaply electrify railroads. I saw that some streetcars are now powered via underground cables or something beneath the tracks. Maybe if someone could come up with a way to transmit electricity to rail lines without using expensive overhead catenary, that would help electrification spread, at least in North America?

Are there any companies working on these ideas, or other next-big-thing ideas?

Thanks for your thoughts!

[ALAN L. SCHNEIDER]

The overhead-free light rail power systems are not very reliable, and they are more expensive than light rail overhead. They are installed only where NIMBY's prevent overhead, and are not used for entire systems, only relatively small partions.

In addition, railroad electrification systems these days are 25 or 50 KVACac, 60 Hz and not 600-750 V dc. You would need a method to prevent current leaking to ground while at the same time devise some method for getting the electrical energy from the buried cable to the train. I don't believe that's possible. Please note that electric transmission lines at 25 or 50 KVac are many feet above the ground to prevent the electricity from going to ground for saety reasons. Burying such power lines would be an interesting engineering challenge.

Alan L. Schneider

[RickRackstop]

I understand that in some undersea high voltage cables that the cables are in a thick steel pipe pressurized with some inert gas. A lot of power imported to Long Island under Long Island Sound is done this way. Getting it up to the surface is another matter.

[CN Sparky]

* Developing a way to do track inspections via a car that's hauled by a regular locomotive on a regular train--something like a caboose-type thing. The goal would be to have track inspections done at higher speeds, frequently and without disrupting the normal flow of traffic. Doing track inspections via regularly-operating trains couldn't cover everything that a track inspection is good for, but it would help save costs.

CN is already doing something similar to this. There are track inspection sensors and monitoring hardware installed on some locomotives, so it feeds the track information system using live data. But I don't know how many, or really that much about the system itself...

[Freddy]

Geometry car does the same thing by checking the line,gage and cross level and even has the ability to test defect detectors.