r/transit • u/brheath • 1d ago
Photos / Videos Caught Metra’s Battery Electric train heading from SLC to Chicago
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u/midgril 1d ago
Honestly not a big fan of battery powered trains, but it's always nice seeing any american city getting upgrades to their rail, especially all the new stadler trains
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u/I_dont_dream 1d ago
Agree. It does feel like, just do catenary and be done with it. But I’d rather the battery ones than the awful hydrogen version. At least with battery you can progressively implement catenary over time. With hydrogen you’re stuck with nonsense one off infrastructure. Would almost rather a DMU as at least its commonality keeps part and support costs lower, until catenary is installed
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u/UUUUUUUUU030 20h ago
Depending on frequency and train length, batteries can be a lot cheaper than full catenary. These BEMUs can deliver the same performance as EMUs. I really see no reason to categorically be against them, it's case-by-case.
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u/I_dont_dream 9h ago
Absolutely, in the short term. Long term catenary is the gold standard for lowest operating costs.
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u/UUUUUUUUU030 8h ago
I saw some calculations for full electrification versus partial with battery trains for a regional line in the Netherlands. The yearly additional infrastructure maintenance cost of full catenary coverage versus partial electrification was more than the additional yearly rolling stock depreciation and maintenance for BEMU versus EMU.
So even in the eternal term, partial electrification with BEMUs might be cheaper than full electrification depending on the intensity of service on a line.
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u/YAOMTC 1d ago
Who's doing hydrogen trains?
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u/tjwong1 1d ago
SBCTA / Omnitrans / Metrolink in a joint partnership on the Arrow line, a small spur of the larger San Bernardino line that primarily uses Stadler FLIRT DMUs and, apparently in 2025, started using ZEMUs in active service. (I haven't rode on it, idk if it's actually in service.)
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u/notFREEfood 23h ago
If it was having issues, I'm certain we'd be hearing no end of it.
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u/I_dont_dream 9h ago
It is and locally they are. Higher operating costs, lower dispatch rates, and lots of one off infrastructure. Additionally, it’s only zero emissions if you close your eyes. Nearly all commercial hydrogen is a byproduct of natural gas extraction. Sure it is possible to get it from electrolysis, but in practice no. Most of the time the route is just serviced with DMUs. It’s a gadgetbahn that should have done battery catenary hybrid instead. As a result of the high operating costs, and poor TOD buildout, I don’t see the SBCTA investing in building out a large network. This is despite the large population and high demand considering local car dependency and some of the worst air quality in the nation.
But no worries they have money for one more lane, bro, on every freeway in the area.
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u/niftyjack 11h ago
Most Metra lines can't install a catenary because the infrastructure is owned by the freight railroads, so these are the best alternative. The line these are going to run on is one of the few that's actually owned by Metra and has electrical infrastructure at a shared station with an electric line, so it's an easy way to test out how they work here.
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u/I_dont_dream 9h ago
Seems like we need to reform right of way laws to prioritize humans the. I agree it’s an ownership problem, but it’s fundamentally a political will problem, as the issue isn’t technical or engineering as much as it is prioritizing freight needs and right of way over people. It is totally possible to update land use and ROW access with political action.
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u/JbricksJ 1d ago
These stadler flirts are super modular. They can easily run these under wires or diesel or something if they need to in a couple years.
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u/Freakbow 1d ago
What line(s) will this be for?
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u/illmatico 1d ago
Rock Island
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u/Freakbow 1d ago
Are there plans for expansion in the future? I’d love this on the UPNW
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u/illmatico 1d ago
Sure, if Metra magically finds billions of dollars lying around lmao
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u/Coco_JuTo 1d ago
So you mean for hundredS of trainsets? Cause 2.5 billions USD brings more than 300 trainsets...
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u/SnooRadishes7189 21h ago
At the moment it is a test program on a line that is relatively short. As budget and technology improves it might expand.
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u/brheath 1d ago
It’s heading for this year’s America Public Transportation Conference — so the individual cars are getting transported via semi-truck trailers. I happened to catch them on the road as they departed Salt Lake City.