It is criminally stupid that the MBTA can't just put up overhead wire and thereby avoid the expense of batteries (which will be ongoing as you have to keep replacing them). The New Haven Railroad electrified from New York to New Haven with their own electrical system when they didn't have an electrical grid to pull from, so the T should be able to electrify all of its lines even if they have to build electrical transmission infrastructure into areas with poor electrical grids. The T is _always_ coming up with excuses why things cannot be done.
@pilsudski362 ай бұрын
Batteries could work in a warm climate with flat land where trips are not too long. I see it as a real problem in New England winters.
@Lucius_Chiaraviglio2 ай бұрын
@@pilsudski36. . . Which reminds me of how 2 phones ago, my Samsung Galaxy S4 started to die in the cold before dying generally. Which makes me wonder how long before the T starts having trouble with all those battery buses we have been getting.
@brosonly33892 ай бұрын
lithium batteries are also bad for the environment due to battery waste and the lithium mining
@yukihong97262 ай бұрын
Because caternary wires and pantographs last forever and don't need replacing until the heat death of the universe. I don't disagree with you, though - overhead electrification beats batteries any day. But that argument just isn't it
@Lucius_Chiaraviglio2 ай бұрын
@@yukihong9726 Wires and pantographs do need eventual replacement, but it's a long time, and the materials are more easily obtained and more easily recycled (apparently we really fail at lithium battery recycling).
@PeterBlack-nl5hyАй бұрын
Drawbridges should not be a problem. The New Haven Line and Shore Line have lots of drawbridges, and all but the Cos Cob bridge have continuous electrification. At Cos Cob, the trains coast across the gap in electrification. With the M8 cars, at least one set is powered at all times. Catenary towers last at least 100 years. About 20 years ago, the New Haven Line's catenary was converted to constant tension, with sets of pulleys, weights, and cables whose expansion in heat kept the power wires at a constant height. The Shore Line, and rest of the NEC from New Haven to Boston, was electrified in 2000 with new constant tension wires. Electrification isn't new technology. It's entirely doable.
@kevinb88812 ай бұрын
MBTA should take lessons from Caltrain and the progress they made!!!
@railfanning.productions2 ай бұрын
Yeah! The MBTA just got approved a $54 million plan to acquire BEMU trains for their Fairmount line so they are definitely going somewhere!
@kevinb88812 ай бұрын
@@railfanning.productions Yeah I read about it last week online, too!!
@kevinb88812 ай бұрын
@@railfanning.productions Yeah I heard about it, too!!
@Sacto16542 ай бұрын
I can't wait for the start of the new Caltrain service in September. Modern trains that will sport less travel time between San Jose and San Francisco.
@Ror555552 ай бұрын
@@Sacto1654 Its actually live since the 11th, September is just when they'll finally stop running all Diesels besides the Gilroy route
@MishastrainsАй бұрын
Yea but they chose the fairmount line which is i guess a good choice cuz if those trains broke down on the nec then trains might get delayed really badly and the nec is really busy so idk
@pilsudski362 ай бұрын
There's already wire between Providence and Boston - why not start with these Commuter rail routes? Needham would be the most logical line for new wire.
@railfanning.productions2 ай бұрын
Yeah I thought the same
@Paul1958R2 ай бұрын
MBTA: No taxpayer dollar left unwasted
@javirodriguez77592 ай бұрын
I don't understand why sticks with cables cost so much.
@counterfit52 ай бұрын
I think the main issue is keeping the cables at the correct height and tension
@schwunkie2 ай бұрын
Maintenance, powering those wires, and managing it
@johncrest-r6n2 ай бұрын
Looks like they are hopping on the cal train bandwagon.
@mikaelj902 ай бұрын
Hi, where are the maps from?
@railfanning.productions2 ай бұрын
Here’s a link to the website where I found the maps