4 ms·

The Prius principle: What worked for cars can work for trains

8 points by bakbak 16y ago

sosuke 16y ago
They've already had hybrid shunters built since 2004 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railpower_GG20B http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railpower_GG20B and you can see some more that were scheduled to be in use in 2007 and 2009 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_locomotive http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_locomotive
ph0rque 16y ago
Here's an idea I had a bit ago: put solar cells between rail tracks and make the trains electric. Also, with the advent of robotically-driven cars, a robotically-driven train should be much less of a technical problem.
HeyLaughingBoy 16y ago
I don't get what's so new about this. Trains have been diesel-electric for decades.
- rfugger 16y ago
  Adding batteries? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diesel_locomotive#Diesel-electric http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diesel_locomotive#Diesel-electr... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_locomotive http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_locomotive The article does a poor job of pointing out that diesel-electrics are very common already.
- InclinedPlane 16y ago
  Indeed. This article is powerfully misinformed, railways have used hybrid locomotives for a very, very long time.
Avshalom 16y ago
Is the locomotive engineering industry really this conservative, or is it just a lack of appropriate battery technology? Because diesel electric locomotives have been common place for ages, and according to wikipedia they already use dynamic breaking they just bleed it off in heat instead of store it in battery banks. It's seems like a pretty small jump that should have been made already to hook batteries up in a DE locomotive.
bkmartin 16y ago
But what about the ROI? The Prius will not save you money over the life of the car thanks to a high sticker price, plus the cost of replacing batteries when, not if, they go bad. Private and government train operators should be looking at this as well, but the article does mention it at all. I would image the ROI is there for trains because of the fuel volumes involved.

8 points by bakbak 16y ago

They've already had hybrid shunters built since 2004 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railpower_GG20B http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railpower_GG20B and you can see some more that were scheduled to be in use in 2007 and 2009 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_locomotive http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_locomotive

ph0rque 16y ago

Here's an idea I had a bit ago: put solar cells between rail tracks and make the trains electric. Also, with the advent of robotically-driven cars, a robotically-driven train should be much less of a technical problem.

HeyLaughingBoy 16y ago

I don't get what's so new about this. Trains have been diesel-electric for decades.

rfugger 16y ago
Adding batteries? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diesel_locomotive#Diesel-electric http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diesel_locomotive#Diesel-electr... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_locomotive http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_locomotive The article does a poor job of pointing out that diesel-electrics are very common already.
InclinedPlane 16y ago
Indeed. This article is powerfully misinformed, railways have used hybrid locomotives for a very, very long time.

Avshalom 16y ago

Is the locomotive engineering industry really this conservative, or is it just a lack of appropriate battery technology? Because diesel electric locomotives have been common place for ages, and according to wikipedia they already use dynamic breaking they just bleed it off in heat instead of store it in battery banks. It's seems like a pretty small jump that should have been made already to hook batteries up in a DE locomotive.

bkmartin 16y ago

But what about the ROI? The Prius will not save you money over the life of the car thanks to a high sticker price, plus the cost of replacing batteries when, not if, they go bad. Private and government train operators should be looking at this as well, but the article does mention it at all. I would image the ROI is there for trains because of the fuel volumes involved.