Electric Rail Locos Grounded
Discussion
Seems the running costs are just too high compared to diesel.
https://www.railtech.com/all/2023/07/25/db-cargo-u...
I presume diesel for rail use doesn't face the punitive taxes road users pay and gas to compete on merit and cost?
https://www.railtech.com/all/2023/07/25/db-cargo-u...
I presume diesel for rail use doesn't face the punitive taxes road users pay and gas to compete on merit and cost?
reading that link i’m confused
it mentions the cost of electricity, but then doesnt expand or explain, but surely that is provided in the overhead lines by Network rail and a fixed cost
it then goes on to state that the withdrawn class 90 electric loco’s date from the 1980’s and the costs of maintaining and running them is much higher than using the class 66 locos which run on biofuels and date from 2015
it reads to me that modern efficient loco’s are much cheaper to run and maintain than 40 year old ones ?
it mentions the cost of electricity, but then doesnt expand or explain, but surely that is provided in the overhead lines by Network rail and a fixed cost
it then goes on to state that the withdrawn class 90 electric loco’s date from the 1980’s and the costs of maintaining and running them is much higher than using the class 66 locos which run on biofuels and date from 2015
it reads to me that modern efficient loco’s are much cheaper to run and maintain than 40 year old ones ?
Edited by Earthdweller on Thursday 27th July 10:36
Earthdweller said:
reading that link i’m confused
it mentions the cost of electricity, but then doesnt expand or explain, but surely that is provided in the overhead lines by Network rail and a fixed cost
it then goes on to state that the withdrawn class 90 electric loco’s date from the 1980’s and the costs of maintaining and running them is much higher than using the class 66 locos which run on biofuels and date from 2015
it reads to me that modern efficient loco’s are much cheaper to run and maintain than 40 year old ones ?
They said it was costing them £1200 per trip more for electricity than bio diesel, and the article mentioned that Freightliner have also laid up a number of electrical locos for similar reasons. it mentions the cost of electricity, but then doesnt expand or explain, but surely that is provided in the overhead lines by Network rail and a fixed cost
it then goes on to state that the withdrawn class 90 electric loco’s date from the 1980’s and the costs of maintaining and running them is much higher than using the class 66 locos which run on biofuels and date from 2015
it reads to me that modern efficient loco’s are much cheaper to run and maintain than 40 year old ones ?
Edited by Earthdweller on Thursday 27th July 10:36
Call me cynical but this will probably have as much to do with reducing their fleet, training costs and driver numbers as it is pressuring NR & the Government to subsidise the cost of electricity.
Although 'diesel better than electric' makes a good headline, I wonder how much of this is about the maintenance bit rather than fuels costs. One of the strengths of Class 66s from the outset was their high levels of availability by comparison with most of their UK predecessors- less downtime means you not only spend less on maintenance/repair but need fewer locos to do the job.
I haven't been able to find any specific availability data for the Class 90 so I may be barking up entirely the wrong tree...!
I haven't been able to find any specific availability data for the Class 90 so I may be barking up entirely the wrong tree...!
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