[llamaorama]

Electrification is expensive and the economics of it almost require both very high frequency train movements as well as very cheap electricity.

But what about batteries? In most modes of transportation the issue with batteries is they are heavy and they take forever to charge. In cars, improvements in battery tech making them lighter and charge faster is cornerstone of making electric cars viable as a full replacement for most IC vehicles as mandated by the EU and some other nations in about 15-20 years.

Trains are different though. They are heavy, but more importantly they are modular. Battery swap tech has been an idea that's gotten some attention for cars but it still is kind of problematic because how do you mechanically change out a battery and where do you deposit it when its finished?

Here's the idea: take a boxcar. Stuff a ton of batteries in it. Put a transformer and a high voltage power connector on existing diesel electric locomotives that allow the electric traction motors to draw from the battery car instead of the onboard diesel engines. At various points in the rail network, have a siding where the battery box cars are added to the rest of the train and then dropped of for charging when depleted.

Now you've electrified a railway but there's compatibility with the rest of the network, a diesel locomotive can switch to fuel for energy when operating in a certain region and pick up a battery car in another. If the train has to go up a steep grade it could use diesel to augment the batteries. You don't have to invest in a ton of new battery electric locomotives that might not have enough power. Also maybe instead of boxcars, the battery cars would be repurposed former locomotives. Then they could sit at the front of the train with a cab and the right weight and crash protection, and perhaps have limited self-propulsion for ease in moving them around.

Just a thought. I am not a train expert. I am not even a serious train geek. You can now tell me why my idea is terrible. It seems so obvious though...