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Re: LA Metrolink partial commute electrification costs? So whatt has changed?
Author: caltrain's doing it
Date: 09-06-2018 - 09:02
But not for air quality reasons. The AQ benefit of electrifying Caltrain is incidental - the real reason is the need to improve service levels, which they determined would not be practical using diesel-hauled trains.
If Metrolink had lines where they were approaching capacity based on diesel haul, and wanted to add more (especially with more stations, enhancing the benefit of E/DMUs regarding accel/decel), then *MU might be worth considering and electric would be worth including in that. As long as service is only a few trains an hour (i.e. most Metrolink lines), the operational benefits of electric aren't an issue, and I agree regarding the air quality benefits compared to tier 4 engines.
If Metrolink had lines where they were approaching capacity based on diesel haul, and wanted to add more (especially with more stations, enhancing the benefit of E/DMUs regarding accel/decel), then *MU might be worth considering and electric would be worth including in that. As long as service is only a few trains an hour (i.e. most Metrolink lines), the operational benefits of electric aren't an issue, and I agree regarding the air quality benefits compared to tier 4 engines.
