this post was submitted on 17 Sep 2023
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If I ran the local power grid I'm not sure I'd want cargo trains using line power for traction, unless there was some mandated weight or length limit ๐ค
Without some cargo limit I think sections of the line's voltage will just collapse under the current being drawn, whenever the cargo train moves off from a complete stop - especially if it's a multi mile long cargo train that seems common in the US
The Kiruna - Narvik electrified line is operating just fine with LKAB running the heaviest trains in Europe with a mass of 8600 tonnes.
90% off the cargo trains are powered with electricity in France and can reach up to 750m.
I agree It's not multi mile long but it's totally possible to have electric cargo trains.
There's little chance of that happening, but even if there was, they'd just use batteries for the acceleration phase. That's what hydrogen fuel cell trains do anyway, because the fuel cell can't produce enough power on it's own to accelerate the train from a stop, so they're used to charge batteries that allow it to do so.
The reason why there's little chance of that happening is there are already very many cargo trains powered by overhead lines. We've been doing it for 150 years and in continental Europe there are many sections of track that are entirely electrified because it made more economic sense than running a wasteful (compared to a steam power plant) diesel generator to power the already electric engines of the trains.
I really can't see a train pulling so much that it crashes the entire system. *When you think about it it's one (moderate size) generators worth.
I think this guy never learned about resistance. Maybe he skipped physics classes, maybe he didn't even have them yet.
Would you ellaborate on what you mean, and the assumptions you drew from the quoted text?