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HS2 railway

CliveS
We would all agree that an express link fro London to Birmingham and Manchester would be of great benefit BUT do we have to electrify the entire length of track or just the parts inside city boundaries. 

We can half the construction/infrastructure cost if we use diesel electric trains cross country and convert to electric only inside the city. 

This is environmentally friendly as power stations are only 60% efficient at best and mostly use gas at normal/peak times anyway; isn't it ??
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    CliveS:

    Yes, if you can generate electricity by solar, wind, tidal or hydro at a cheaper price per unit, than burning hydrocarbon fuel then it could be worth electrifying a railway line. But electrification of cross country in UK or interstate is a waste of money and materials and is just bad economics. 

    See website  https://nottenergy.com/our-services/resources/energy-cost-comparison/  

    A 600 kW diesel electric train may only be 40% efficient but that is the same price energy wise than purchasing from the grid and you save all the electric infrastructure costs.


    EXAMPLE  run a train from London to Birmingham for one hour at 90 miles per hour with engine running on average 50% throttle. Total energy used 300 kWhrs.  A litre of diesel will produce 9.8 kWhr of energy so the train will use 300/9.8 litres of fuel if 100% efficient so it will consume 300/9.8*100/40 or 76 litres of fuel-oil which at 40p per litre is £31..  Purchase from the grid of 300 kWhr at  10p per unit on average will cost the same




    Are you involved in railway engineering or planning? That website provides residential consumer prices for energy. Large users of energy like railways are able to negotiate discounts for bulk purchases with energy suppliers.



     

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  • 0

    CliveS:

    Yes, if you can generate electricity by solar, wind, tidal or hydro at a cheaper price per unit, than burning hydrocarbon fuel then it could be worth electrifying a railway line. But electrification of cross country in UK or interstate is a waste of money and materials and is just bad economics. 

    See website  https://nottenergy.com/our-services/resources/energy-cost-comparison/  

    A 600 kW diesel electric train may only be 40% efficient but that is the same price energy wise than purchasing from the grid and you save all the electric infrastructure costs.


    EXAMPLE  run a train from London to Birmingham for one hour at 90 miles per hour with engine running on average 50% throttle. Total energy used 300 kWhrs.  A litre of diesel will produce 9.8 kWhr of energy so the train will use 300/9.8 litres of fuel if 100% efficient so it will consume 300/9.8*100/40 or 76 litres of fuel-oil which at 40p per litre is £31..  Purchase from the grid of 300 kWhr at  10p per unit on average will cost the same




    Are you involved in railway engineering or planning? That website provides residential consumer prices for energy. Large users of energy like railways are able to negotiate discounts for bulk purchases with energy suppliers.



     

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