(The following story by Keith Barry appeared at Wired.com on June 17, 2009.)
The marriage of railway operators and wind farms could bring renewable energy to more people and energy-saving, higher-speed locomotives to America’s rails.
Freight company BNSF is considering allowing power companies to use its railroad rights-of-way (such as the Chicago-to-California Transcon) to route transmission lines from remote wind farms to major cities. In exchange, BNSF would get lower electric bills and a constant source of power for their locomotives should BNSF go electrtic, according to RailwayAge Magazine.
The concept makes sense. Railroad rights-of-way tend to be largely hidden from view but they also lead to major population centers, and they could pass big midwestern wind farms. A wind-and-rail combination would position rail companies to benefit from any future “cap-and-trade” emissions policies. It also could cut emissions as diesel locomotives are replaced with electric trains, and investments in wind power would help further offset emissions.
Electrification also would be a boon for domestic locomotive manufacturers — such as Cleveland’s EMD and GE Transportation Systems — which would begin building all-new electric locomotives to meet increased demand.
Still, electrification isn’t without controversy. According to RailwayAge, many rail experts believe electrification is the first step toward running high-speed passenger trains on existing freight corridors. The Association of American Railroads warns that many railway lines don’t have the capacity to run both freight and passenger trains.