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I expect this is where all of the infrastructure investment is going. Assuming these trains run in both directions, then to keep speeds steady you'll need eith
by CaliforniaKarl 10y ago
I expect this is where all of the infrastructure investment is going. Assuming these trains run in both directions, then to keep speeds steady you'll need either double track, or you'll need appropriately-sized passing sidings. And then, as soon as you have the first slowdown, all that goes to pot.
- dx034 10y agoThe problem will be to get everyone to agree on a plan. The EU and China could probably do so (here's where having the EU is actually an advantage), but getting Belarus, Russia and Mongolia to agree to the same plan without at least one state trying to blackmail favourable terms out of it will be very hard to achieve. A proper, dedicated track could probably bring huge economic benefits for everyone involved, but I don't see that coming. As long as volume is low, none of the states the freight goes through has leverage (could still be shifted back to air/sea) which somehow guarantees that it works.
- stuaxo 10y agoI'm pretty sure most Of The route already is double tracked.
- dx034 10y agoYes, but there's a significant amount of passenger and freight traffic on the route. I don't know about Eastern Europe and Russia, but the rail system in Germany/Belgium/France/UK is mostly very close to capacity. Freight trains often have to wait till night time to get a slot.
- justincormack 10y agoThere is unlikely to be any single track. There are a few potential slowdowns, eg Russia has a different guage.