James Shields: I agree with you 100%. Electrification of lines incurs substantial up-front costs, but there are big long-term savings. All-electric trains are simpler, more reliable, almost certainly cost less, probably last longer. Also electric trains do not have to lug tons of batteries around with them, and the laws of physics are pretty definite on the consequences of this for energy saving. Finally, batteries need frequent re-charging and the result in terms of turn-around times and therefore fleet utilisation should be obvious.
What's not to like about electrification?
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