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| Re: Amtrak's ACS-64 design (1025641) | |||
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Re: Amtrak's ACS-64 design |
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Posted by WillD on Fri Jan 14 21:43:42 2011, in response to Re: Amtrak's ACS-64 design, posted by JayZeeBMT on Fri Jan 14 15:10:12 2011. I was kind of surprised to learn that BNSF's concepts for electrifying their Transcon line from Chicago to LA advanced to the point where they approached both EMD and GE about doing AC electric locomotives. Both builders said they would be open to the project as a freight electric locomotive really isn't all that different from a diesel locomotive.It'll be interesting to see how things shake out in the future. BNSF was exploring electrification before the recession in order to meet their growing motive power needs. In particular the requirement for their fastest intermodal trains to overtake slower merchant and intermodal freights resulted in a constraint on the line's capacity. Equipping their lower priority freights with the same motive power consists to keep pace with the priority Z trains would have resulted in a marked increase in fuel burn and an unacceptable increase in costs. BNSF's electrification plan was roviding that power with electric locomotives they could provide equal power to weight ratios without an excessive cost. It is possible that once the economy recovers BNSF will again be forced to look into electrification on the Transcon. But then the new Panama Canal will likely begin operation in 2014, which could greatly reduce transcontinental container traffic as the shipping lines use the canal to bypass our ports and freight railroad systems. But then the largest post-Panamax ships will still be too large for the canal, and which are becoming the preferred method for transpacific and transatlantic transport. It is possible the shipping companies will trade transloading to railroads in exchange for 14,000+ container ships instead of the 12,000 container ships which will be able to transit the new Panama Canal locks. As a result the long term outlook for our freight railroads, in particular BNSF, which draws most of its revenue from intermodal traffic than UP, is extremely questionable. It could either decline as the shipping companies bypass our transcontinental freights, or increase as they rely on container ships too large for the new canal locks. It is likely the electrification of our freight railroads likely rides on the outcomes of those eventualities. |
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