The Pryus is the hybred car.
I think the Diesel is a MU
[:o)][:p][:)]
[quote]
Originally posted by CopCarSS
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On the Metra Q-line, they’re double heading F40’s on trains over 7 cars that make frequent stops. During rush hour they also run non-revenue back-hauls on a significant number of early trains to provide service for later trains. A Q Bilevel holds about 90 people and there’s usually some standing on the busiest trains.
It’s not apples to apples though, since the fuel used is different. I don’t think it’s either possible or feasible to refine a barrel of oil into all gasoline. Jets burn kerosene, another lesser quality fuel.
Also a Hummer and a Honda Civic get virtually the same mileage stuck in a traffic jam or at a strip-mall stop light that takes 5 cycles to get through… The fuel economy of the local trip to the station is far less than the EPA ratings.
The are double heading to provide quicker acceleration from stops, not for lack of pulling power. 6000 HP on a 7 car train is a gross overpower. Of course, increasing acceleration increases fuel consumption, but that is the price you pay for acceleration.
If you look at the tonnage ratings for a 40 series in high speed intermodal service, 7 cars won’t even make them breath hard.
Yes but why is CSX beaching always about capasity when Amtrak wants to add one train between Buffalo and Cleveland and Chicago on the lakefront line
A couple of things that I left out…
1000 people on a train would weigh in at 160,000 pounds at a average weight of 160 lbs per person,(More in Chicago less in warm climates)
A cars MPG is not always constant 35mpg might be 20 in city driving or stop and start driving.
One misstatement is that the NE Corridor relieves a portion of one highway lane in each direction. Nonsense. Counting the commuter train traffic (we’re talking about the NY-PHila portionm right) it is more like four lanes of traffic in each direction. Both into Penn Station NY and into 30th Street Phila (only two tracks into NY but six or more into Phila if the Chestnut Hill branch that joins in with the tracks to SEPTA upper level), there is a train about every 150 seconds. Each way. About 24 trains during one rush hour each way. Loading varies, but going into NY you can figure on about 1000 people per train, a lot more on the commuter equipment balanced by less on Amtrak. That is 24000 people. One lane of traffic can handle about 5000 cars per hour at about 25 mph with less capacity both slower and faster.
The corridor trains burn a lot of fuel. They are not fuel efficient. Rapid acceleration and brakinng in commuter service and fuel heavy high speed for Amtrak.
BUT IT IS DOMESTIC FOSSELL FUEL AND NOT IMPORTED OIL!!!
Which is why electric proposion is the best way to move commuter trains
Preferable generated by Hydro and Nuke[soapbox]
STEPS TO ENERGY INDEPENDENCE:
RAILWAY ELECTRIFICATION
MANDATORY HYBRID OR FLYWHEEL OR EQUAL TECHNOLOGY REUSING BRAKE ENERGY FOR ALL HIGHWAY VEHICLES, TWO YEARS FOR ALL MANUFACTURERS, FIVE FOR EVERYTHING ON THE HIGHWAY
FUEL CELL AND HYDROGEN RESEARCH IS AN EXCUSE TO AVOID ENERGY INDEPENDENCE, NOT A STEP IN ITS REALIZATION.
IF ANYONE REALLY WANTS TO HELP GET THE MESSAGE ACROSS, CONTACT ME AT daveklepper@yahoo.com and I will attatch the necessary technical paper and other material to my reply.
PS: The Acela and other high speed corridor trains should really have their fuel efficiency compared with the jet planes they are replacing and not with automobiles. Here they score on two counts: They are more efficient and they use domestic coal instead of foreign petroleum…
And they still use less LAND!
G’day, Y’all,
Where do you ever see four people in a car? Here in Georgia, the state promotes the concept, but it is rarely ever seen. Here on GA 400 going from southern Appalachia (Dahlonega) to Atlanta, you see one car in 10 with more than one occupant. Frankly, if people won’t take mass transit, they probably won’t carpool, either.
One of my supervisors drives a Prius 50 miles from his home in very, very rural Jasper to GE in Duluth and gets 50 mpg driving during a non “drive time” period. If he were driving at, say, 7 p.m., he’d be charging up his battery as he brakes constantly. The problem with commuting by car is not so much fuel extravagance but the accelerate, brake, accelerate, brake syndrome caused by motorists whipping from lane to lane and forcing those now behind them to hit the brakes. And the person with now no one in front of him has to accelerate to get on the back bumper of the car in front of him before someone moves from another lane to his. This not only kills gas mileage but average speed. and if someone drops something on the side of the road, everyone behind has to slow down to see what it was. I have a feeling if Atlanta’s commuter rail MARTA were extended all the way to Dahlonega, you’d get a bunch of folks to ride it as it passed through Dawsonville, Cumming, Alpharetta and Roswell. And the loss to the highway of these folks would allow traffic to run much more smoothly. Except for when someone dumps out his cigarette butts and everyone slows to see what he’s done.
Jock Ellis
Cumming, GA US of A
Well the train could save on labor costs in terms of bus drivers, 1000 people on a train would be like 100 bus loads and 100 bus drivers. But when you add signal,engineer conducter and station agents things add up.