Quote:
Originally Posted by k1052
In a surprise to nobody who uses it the EPA finds the air in Union Station and it's platforms is still really really bad. Somebody needs to tell Metra to either add emissions controls/AESS to all F40 rebuilds or buy new locomotives and Amtrak for it's part needs to start standing on necks to get all the ventilation working (and augment it if required).
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/w...105-story.html |
Ah, good reporting there, mentioning the legal limit and the actual values at different locations. I'd heard of this study, but the
EPA's own article on it was so entirely devoid of context as to be meaningless. They said "The concentration of PM2.5 in air on the train platforms was 23 - 96 percent higher than concentrations recorded on nearby streets", while failing to mention that there even was a legal limit let alone that even those nearby streets were exceeding it!
I think it makes sense to prioritize improving ventilation in the very short term. But unless they filter their exhaust, that will just blow more smoke onto nearby streets that are already beyond the exposure limit for fine particulates.
I'd really like to see Metra move towards using hybrid locomotives, like New York uses for GCT and Penn Station where diesels are not allowed to run. I think they use third rails there, but a battery-hybrid system might work better in Chicago given the relatively short tunnels and the number of progress in that area of technology.
As I understand it, Metra's engines already use electric traction motors powered by generators turned by their diesel engines, so I would hope that adding a bank of batteries would be feasible. I'd hope that a battery system would pay for itself in fuel savings by eliminating waste when idling or coasting or running the engine outside of it's ideal rpm when accelerating. And simply not running the diesel in or near the station would help with particulates, both for the station and the surrounding neighborhood.
edit: This bit from the article sounds promising: "They also secured federal funding to equip locomotives with technology that automatically powers down the engines inside Chicago's downtown stations."