09-06-2017, 09:45 AM
(09-06-2017, 09:06 AM)timc Wrote:Quote:"you just can’t switch out vehicles the system has been built for this particular vehicle, the stations particularly are designed for the various dimensions of this specific vehicle it would be very expensive to switch," Galloway says
I have seen this before, and I don't doubt that everything has been built to match. I'm also not remotely suggesting that we should order trains from anywhere else. But every time I see it, it makes me wonder what the future plan is when it is time to replace our trains. Will we need to buy new trains that are exactly the same dimensions? Is it really that difficult to make a train that matches the tolerances of the system?
Well, that's a decision to be made in three decades or so when they reach end of life. What technology will be available then? Will it be more cost-effective to keep the same footprint, or retool the system for something else? We'll find the answers when we need to.