As someone who has spent a fair amount on and around electrified railroads in Europe, I think that the question for electrification in the U.S. is "Not if, but when." (Not an orginal quote from me.)

I know that there are costs -- and issues related to standards, as you will want to have equipment interoperable among railroads, just as diesels are now.

But, I also see two strong points in favor of electrification, one of which has been mentioned and the other not.

The first is that you can get electricity from a large number of sources, and once you feed the electricity into the grid, the grid does not care how the power was generated. In Europe, railroads have both their own generating plants but also buy power, as needed, from the commercial power grid.

Here's a photo of the central electric power generation and distribution center of the Austrian Federal Railways in Innsbruck, Austria. (This center is not a dispatching center. It simply manages the supply and routing of electric power throughout the national rail system.):

http://www.robl.w1.com/obb/I-000957.htm


The second point that has not been mentioned prominently (that I have noticed) is that electrification is the only sensible way to run trains through long tunnels.

Currently the longest major rail tunnels in the U.S., such as the Cascade and Moffat, are a major choke points in the national railroad network. These tunnels can handle at best one train about every half hour -- because of the time needed to vent diesel fumes.

If the line is electrified, trains could follow each other at normal block singal distances, meaning that two trains, headed in the same direction, could even be in these tunnels at the same time. Not only that, but there would now be incentives to build newer, longer so-called base tunnels which would save both time and fuel, as you would not need to spend the time and effort to get trains up the grade to the current tunnels.

In Europe, new tunnels in the 30-mile range are being built. Though mentioned most often in connection with faster passenger rail connections, these major tunnels will certainly also carry freight -- much faster than ever before.


Of course, there are also many other positive points, some of which have been mentioned: Quicker accelleration and higher short-term ratings for straight electrics, easier maintenance and longer lifespan of electric locomotives, lower noise and pollution at trackside, etc.


Okay, yes. Long tunnels, too, cost money. Lots of money. But, in Europe, the various railroads and governments have seen this as a worthwhile investment that will ultimately be paid back in a variety of ways.

-- Ernest