Caltrain's electric fleet more efficient than expected

Post by Dalewyn » Sat, Jan 25, 2025, 5:17 AM UTC

thereisnospork wrote: post #98

sunday_serif wrote: post #80

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Completely agree! The hard parts seems to be figuring out (1) how to cut red tape for only certain projects and (2) figuring out what red tape to keep. Chesterton's fence and all that.

If you have to cut red tape for certain projects, the tape probably shouldn't exist in the first place. edit: for instance, if you have e.g. an environmental regulation that is so onerous that exemptions must be doled out for something as sensible as train electrification, then you don't have an environmental review regulation, you have a 'build nothing except what the exemptor decrees' regulation. Which is rather an…

Post by Dalewyn » Sat, Jan 25, 2025, 5:21 AM UTC

timewizard wrote: post #144

tbrownaw wrote: post #135

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> /We/ are doing our part. The administration needs to be held accountable. ... By the electorate, who clearly aren't doing their part if things like this keep happening.

Other than going down to the assembly and yelling what do you propose? We could call the representatives, recall the representatives, create a ballot measure, or vote differently next time.

Post by ghouse » Sat, Jan 25, 2025, 5:26 AM UTC

Animats wrote: post #136

That's good to hear. Especially since the electric trains accelerate so much faster than the Diesel ones did. Have you been next to one at takeoff? They're going about 40MPH before the train has traveled its own length. Probably limited more by standing passengers than power. Most of the energy used accelerating is recovered at the next stop, so the fast acceleration does not consume much energy.

Post by Dylan16807 » Sat, Jan 25, 2025, 5:29 AM UTC

benmanns wrote: post #11

londons_explore wrote: post #5

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I dunno... Many trains in London still don't do regenerative braking despite the technology to generate electricity from motion being around for... checks notes... 194 years!

You probably know more about this than me, but it looks like some lines do: https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/transparency/freedom-of-informa... Regenerative braking in cars also keeps a lot of brake dust out of the air. A pair of brake pads lasts about as long as the life of an EV.

Post by Johnny555 » Sat, Jan 25, 2025, 6:06 AM UTC

ninetyninenine wrote: post #129

Johnny555 wrote: post #94

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They do. You're not being realistic. Almost everyone would like to have a choice between getting on a subway for super cheap or driving through traffic. You're saying they would rather have no choice between the two options? Come on Sure, everyone wants an easy commute where the train picks them up in front of their house and drops them off at the office, but they also want their house with yard in Walnut Creek. Or l…

>Sure, everyone wants an easy commute where the train picks them up in front of their house and drops them off at the office, but they also want their house with yard in Walnut Creek. Or lacking that, their single family house in the Sunset. You can have both. Tokyo is twice the size of the bay area. Density isn't the issue. It's incompetence.