Quote:
Originally Posted by Danth
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Yes, immensely so, in terms of tare weights. A typical modern coal car might weigh perhaps thirty tons or so and carry several times its own weight of paying load. A passenger coach weights upwards of seventy tons and carries only a few dozen people. From a loading standpoint, passenger rail amounts to running effectively empty trains.
Also, freight trains don't run fast. Thirty to fifty miles an hour is plenty for most freight railroads. The amount of power you need to continue accelerating at high rates of speed increases very rapidly. It takes more power to operate a 600 ton passenger train at 150 MPH and accelerate it to that speed within reasonable distances than it takes to run a 6000 ton coal drag at 25 MPH.
Don't get me wrong. I *like* rail transport. I just don't like it being sold as something it is not. It's perfect for congestion reduction and for fitting your transportation corridors underground or other places that don't matter. It's not great at being cheap. Sometimes being cheap isn't the end-all. Improving quality of life warrants some expense.
Danth
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Isn't that whole idea to not run passenger trains on the freight rails?
Oh my god shutup.