nearly all passenger trains are gadgetbahns, automobiles are much easier to scale and likely more environmentally friendly when occupancies on the train are low
[deleted]
What’s a Gadgetbahn? (2017)
11–20 of 58 posts
Re: What’s a Gadgetbahn? (2017)
#12Swarms of single occupancy drones, summoned by phone apps, drop out of the sky and embrace people with tentacles, flit off at their preferred maximum g-force and gently deposit them at their destinations, squirting away for the next fare.
Make it so.
Re: What’s a Gadgetbahn? (2017)
#13nearly all passenger trains are gadgetbahns, automobiles are much easier to scale and likely more environmentally friendly when occupancies on the train are low
Is there a source on that? I would expect an electrically propelled train to be extremely efficient from an emissions standpoint and to have far far lower emissions when occupied, enough to offset running a few empty ones.
If you look at the operational emissions, this is true. Infrastructure does however play a role. Planes have high operational emissions but require little infrastructure. Trains have little emissions but require enormous infrastructure.
It's however completely unclear to me which CO2-calculators account the infrastructure, and which do not.
Re: What’s a Gadgetbahn? (2017)
#14Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is there a source on that? I would expect an electrically propelled train to be extremely efficient from an emissions standpoint and to have far far lower emissions when occupied, enough to offset running a few empty ones.
If you look at the operational emissions, this is true. Infrastructure does however play a role. Planes have high operational emissions but require little infrastructure. Trains have little emissions but require enormous infrastructure. It's however completely unclear to me which CO2-calculators account the infrastructure, and which do not.
Where does the CO2 cost of the infrastructure come in? Is that just in construction or do rails somehow emit CO2? Or are you just saying that rails take up space and that's an environmental impact too?
I feel like I'm missing something.
Re: What’s a Gadgetbahn? (2017)
#15Earlier quoted context omitted.
If you look at the operational emissions, this is true. Infrastructure does however play a role. Planes have high operational emissions but require little infrastructure. Trains have little emissions but require enormous infrastructure. It's however completely unclear to me which CO2-calculators account the infrastructure, and which do not.
Where does the CO2 cost of the infrastructure come in? Is that just in construction or do rails somehow emit CO2? Or are you just saying that rails take up space and that's an environmental impact too? I feel like I'm missing something.
The German newspaper article names construction and operation of railway stations, and the construction of the infrastructure itself.
My main point is: there seems to be a non-neligible impact, and CO2 calculators don't help me grasp that.
Re: What’s a Gadgetbahn? (2017)
#16nearly all passenger trains are gadgetbahns, automobiles are much easier to scale and likely more environmentally friendly when occupancies on the train are low
Is there a source on that? I would expect an electrically propelled train to be extremely efficient from an emissions standpoint and to have far far lower emissions when occupied, enough to offset running a few empty ones.
Here's the best source I have found for back-of-the-envelope calculations for energy use:
http://www.withouthotair.com/c20/page_121.shtml
Calculating emissions from energy depends on the local mix of power plants.
Re: What’s a Gadgetbahn? (2017)
#17I don't care what gets built, but the province really needs more trains. "The market is too small", people tell me. But then I see all the cars on the highway between Montreal and Sherbrooke and I'm pretty sure there is enough people there to fill a train every 1-2 hour. What the current prime minister really wants is just more room for cars (see "3e lien") . The "much more modern things" (than trains) are probably j…
I would love more & cheaper VIA Rail trains in Canada as well... Especially when so many train cars are running empty! https://emptytrains.com/ (petition started about a year ago).
It was in the news (all articles/videos in French) [0][1].
[0] https://ici.radio-canada.ca/premiere/emissions/medium-large/...
[1] https://www.lesoleil.com/actualite/un-collectif-pour-des-tra...
Re: What’s a Gadgetbahn? (2017)
#18Earlier quoted context omitted.
Where does the CO2 cost of the infrastructure come in? Is that just in construction or do rails somehow emit CO2? Or are you just saying that rails take up space and that's an environmental impact too? I feel like I'm missing something.
The German newspaper article names construction and operation of railway stations, and the construction of the infrastructure itself. My main point is: there seems to be a non-neligible impact, and CO2 calculators don't help me grasp that.
Is the German newspaper also considering the infrastructural costs of road construction, expansion and maintenance (particularly maintenance costs incurred by shipping freight on those roads instead of rails)?
Re: What’s a Gadgetbahn? (2017)
#19To be a little contrarian: what would New York City look like today if they had dismissed the Subway as a "gadgetbahn" back in 1894?
Re: What’s a Gadgetbahn? (2017)
#20A key aspect of Gadgetbahns is they are always Not Trains ™ and the reason for that is because trains are old tech that is hard to hype, but moreso because hard data already exists for how expensive trains are to build and Gadgetbahn advocates would rather have the luxury of pulling numbers out of their ass.
Another thing they share is they have almost all the same requirements as trains, and thus, inevitably, similar costs.