The article was great. Although petroleum powered vehicles are used extensively in the USA, there are alternatives to transporting goods and people, petroleum powered vehicles is just one of those alternative. Your idea of electric trains is a viable alternative, too.
The Russian railway industry should be commended for electrifying the Trans-Siberian Railway. But to be sure it works, I suggest someone you trust, visit the TS Railway and report directly to you. I trust most progress reports, but I have a slight problem with reports from Russia. I am not a doctrinaire anti-Communist but these guys have been known to stretch the truth. The Japanese have been electrifying their trains at least since the Tokyo worlds fair in the 1960s, I trust Japanese reports on running a fully electric train system. The bullet electric trains of France are fast and efficient, but only get publicity when they hit a cow on the way to Paris.
In the USA, as noted, most of the commuter light rails use electric trains. The MARTA line in Atlanta, GA; the BART and MUNI lines in San Francisco Bay Area of CA, the RTD light rail in Denver, CO; the Elevated Railway in Chicago, IL; the Subway system in NYC, NY; these is just the electric railways I can think of off the top of my head.
There are many companies that supply the electric trains to these railways. Many of the supply companies are local. One thing most electric trains have in common is they are light relative to USA standard rail trains. So aluminum (which is a light and sturdy construction metal) suppliers come to mind as a beneficiary of growth in electric trains. Also, whatever company gets the contract to string the cable carrying the electric cable will be very profitable during the first year of the contract, after the initial excitement subsides investors will get killed. Remember the destruction of the capital caused by fibre optic and other specialty telecommunications companies in the 1990s. Most investors lost everything, and the consolidators bought the assets for 1 - 10 % of construction costs.
I hope your investment in electric trains is profitable. I admire you due diligence and world wide research on electric railways. Please stay in touch. |
