4 ms·

I wonder what is the cost of accelerating 60kg to 40km/h every 2 minutes for a day.

• kwhitefoot 5y ago
  Probably less than many other forms of entertainment.
  • SilverRed 5y ago
    I'd say its almost free compared to the alternatives like community programs/activities. It doesn't sound as fulfilling but if someone can entertain themselves by sitting on their own on a train, let them go at it.
• croon 5y ago
  Approximately 0.03% of the cost of accelerating the locomotive by itself.
• majewsky 5y ago
  Given m = 60 kg and v = 40 km/h, the kinetic energy is K = 1/2 * m * v^2 = 3.703 kJ Acceleration is not going to be 100% efficient, so let's round that up to 10 kJ. We also need to decelerate, so let's assume the same amount of energy being put in to do that. 20 kJ every 2 minutes for 12 hours comes out to 2 kWh total. For electric trains, you can map that to a cost using your local electricity prices, but keep in mind that public transit operators purchase electricity wholesale and probably get a cheaper price than residential users. (Also note that my estimations are intentionally pessimistic to map out the worst-case scenario. Energy efficiency is probably better than my assumptions, and trains may have some sort of regenerative braking.)