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GO Train Electrification Could Be Faster, More Cost-Effective Than Diesel, Says Metrolinx Study
For about a year, Metrolinx, the Toronto and Hamilton area’s regional transit authority, has been studying the possibility of electrifying GO train tracks, all of which currently support only diesel-burning locomotives. Preliminary results from that study, detailed for the media this morning at Metrolinx headquarters, suggest that electric trains would be speedier and, over time, more cost-effective than a diesel-burning fleet.
The study was the first ever to take into account the costs of electrifying all seven of the rail corridors upon which GO trains run. The preliminary findings, in essence, indicate that if Metrolinx were to sink enough money up front into electrifying the GTA’s rail corridors, the costs of operating electric locomotives would be low enough that they would be cheaper to run, in the medium term, than diesels, owing to lower fuel and maintenance costs. Precise cost figures are still forthcoming. The study also found that electric locomotives would improve commute times by about 5%.
The preliminary study report presents six different electrification scenarios, reflecting different patterns of electrification rollout across the seven GO train corridors. The preliminary findings will be presented to the Metrolinx board at its meeting on Tuesday night. You can read the presentation yourself, if you’d like [PDF], but it’s mostly graphs and pictures. The final version of the report is set to be completed in December, but Metrolinx communications staff aren’t yet sure when it will be released to the public.
It isn’t yet clear how the Metrolinx board will act on the electrification study, once they’ve had a chance to peruse its full findings. Their choice is bound to be contentious, no matter what it ends up being.
Prior to the study, the constant refrain from Metrolinx had been that the costs associated with building the infrastructure necessary for electrification―including overhead “catenary” wiring above the tracks and modification of overpasses to create clearance for that wiring―were very high, and that while they wouldn’t rule out electrification in the future, their preference in the short term was diesel. “Electrification would require a very significant new capital commitment, likely measured in the tens of billions of dollars,” said Robert Prichard, former Metrolinx President and CEO (he’s now the Chair), during a public address in June 2009. “As a result, we think it right to do a thorough study before making commitments.”
Last October, Ontario’s environment minister approved a plan by Metrolinx to build additional diesel infrastructure along the Georgetown GO line, provided the locomotives used were the cleanest available, in terms of the diesel by-products they’d be pumping into the air. This angered community activists concerned about the human health risks associated with diesel exhaust. The Clean Train Coalition, the umbrella group under which these diesel protesters operate, is planning a demonstration at Tuesday’s Metrolinx board meeting: they want Metrolinx to electrify immediately, rather than deferring the investment until a later date. Metrolinx would be able to defer electrification of the Georgetown GO line if they chose. The study doesn’t bind them to any particular course of action; it’s only meant to provide information to them and the province.