Personally, I think we are pass due on this, we should of moved our railroads to eletric (at least for commuter stuff) a long time ago. They will probably still need the diesel generators between cities.
In our post on Joe Biden and Amtrak, a commenter asked ” How do other countries handle acquiring land for such use? Do you think we’re truly beyond getting an infrastructure in place?” The answer is, we don’t need to acquire the land, and the infrastructure already is mostly in place.
Over at the Oil Drum, Alan Drake lays out what should be done to develop a coherent program to reduce oil consumption, cut greenhouse gas emissions, fix the electrical grid and improve the speed and reliability of transport without using oil:
- Electrify 36,000 miles of mainline railroads
- Expand Railroad capacity and speed by adding double tracks, better signals and more grade separation
- New 110 mph tracks for passengers and freight added to existing rail ROWs as a second step
- In many, but not all cases, use the railroad ROW as new electrical transmission line corridors
- Promote the use of rail lines, usually spur lines, as wind turbine sites with rail transported cranes and materials
- Take advantage of the lower marginal economic costs of railroads, where the more we use it, the less it costs per unit. A diffuse economic benefit for many sectors of the economy.
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/08/time-to-electrify-the-rails.php
