It takes a certain kind of stupidity to require electric vehicles, which many people cannot afford and are charged by a grid that is incapable of supporting them. It takes a certain kind of magic to mandate electric trains, which haven’t even been invented.
Welcome to California, a land of magic and thinking.
California law states, “All new cars, trucks, and SUVs sold within the state will be zero-emission vehicles [ZEV] before 2035.” ZEVs are electric vehicles (EVs), hydrogen-powered cars, and plug-in hybrids. If Sacramento has its way, by 2030, all freight trains must meet the same standards.
It slipped my mind at the time, but in November, the California Air Resources Board issued new regulations that “would require all freight trains to be in a zero-emission configuration by 2035.” The rule requires that all diesel locomotives older than 23 years be retired by 2030, even though they can have a life expectancy of up to 39 years.
By 2030, all passenger trains must be ZEV-compliant, and by 2035, freight trains. There is no ZEV freight train. This also doesn’t seem like a good idea. But I will come back to this in a moment.
Wabtec’s battery-electric locomotive is the closest thing to CARB’s new standard. It’s a demonstration engine, but it can only reduce fuel consumption by 11%.
California should adopt a diet low in CARB, but alas.
Let’s return to the practicalities behind ZEV trains.
Diesel is able to generate a lot of power for towing. Want to haul 100 cars of cargo? Diesel. Want to deliver IKEA furniture that is not assembled in a semi? Diesel. Towing a 26-foot camping camper up the mountain? Diesel.
Towing drains batteries faster than regular driving. Batteries are drained much faster by towing than they are when driving. The massive coal trains that I see on the Front Range would require a lot of batteries, but the majority of them already have four or five diesel engine power.
Either California will require the largest number of (nonexistent) electric locomotives, or it’ll have to electrify its entire train track network. I don’t know if it’s even possible. I’m laughing now at the idea of what will happen if the train reaches the Nevada state border and the power goes out.
The physics is what makes the ZEV mandate absurd, not the lack of locomotives.
Sacramento’s most bizarre example of magical thinking can only be rationalized by the fact that it will require a waiver to implement the new regulations from the EPA.
If I knew anything about Biden’s EPA, my answer would be “You want to mandate imaginary trains with an impossible timetable?” Why not?
