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Originally Posted by Foxwall
I share Steam for evers "gut feeling" that the "electric railway" is taking a sledgehammer to crack a nut.
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If that’s how you want to describe it then we should have used more “sledgehammers” in the past instead of pussyfooting around with cheaper, less efficient options. You can’t have a fit for purpose, cost-effective railway on the cheap.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Foxwall
Whats wrong in a such a densely populated country with the internal combustion engine working at speeds of upto 125mph ?
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You know the answer to this. It’s been said often enough in this thread. The problem is that you won’t accept it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Foxwall
Does the nation need 200mph electric railways and will they bring significant benefits for the capital outlay ?
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I personally don’t know if the country really needs 200mph railways. However, what I do know is that the present routes are becoming more and more congested and new lines will have to be built. Doesn’t it therefore make sense to build these new lines for high speed running using the cleanest and most cost effective traction?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Foxwall
Would a High speed diesel with tilting technology and cleaner fuel (perhaps bio-diesel) provide cleaner faster trains at a fraction of the cost ?
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We are back to efficiency again. Even assuming that the bio-fuel could be ethically produced it still has to be carried round and burned in an inefficient internal combustion engine. It might appear to be a cheaper option but once again it’s only a stop gap solution. I shouldn’t think that we would ever be able to produce enough bio-fuel to supply the railways and even if we could it would be much better burnt in power stations to produce electricity. We have to get away from this dependency on oil.