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25 comments on Updates on the Energy Bills and a New Version of the RPS: There's Still Time to Call Your Member!

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AlanfromBigEasy on August 4, 2007 - 11:54pm

http://www.lightrailnow.org/features/f_lrt_2007-04a.htm

has an Urban Rail estimate of $135 to $175 billion (note that much of this infrastructure will last 40 years (rolling stock) to over a century (subways).

Freight rail electrification could cost $3 million/mile plus new tracks (figure $150/foot/track). Offsetting this is reduced highway use & wear by heavy trucks. Again, long lived infrastructure.

Rail has elasticity of supply. the worse things get, the more transportation they can provide, and the more people will move close to them.

-10% was a conservative #. At $10/gallon, 80% or more of trucking ton-miles will move to rail and short haul deliveries (unless warehouses move to rail sidings).

Best Hopes,

Alan

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gTrout on August 5, 2007 - 1:27am

Thanks Alan. I should have specified that the price based demand destruction would be 80 billion per year or 800 billion over 10 years. That makes the electrified rail option pretty attractive.

Jon Freise

Analyze Not Fantasize -D. Meadows

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Aniya on August 5, 2007 - 5:56pm

Hi Jon,

This sounds like a worthy project, thanks for doing it.

It seems like there ought to be a place and/or a way to factor in what amounts to the qualitative aspect of rail electrification, namely - If fueled by re-newables and/or having either primary or redundant capacity via some distributed energy system, then we are looking at being able to ship, say, food ("agricultural products") even under conditions of FF shortages. (In other words, what price to put on something that works when other options do not?)

(Question mark?)