All Aboard?

Well, if an article Mitch links regarding Minnesota's new commuter rail line is indicative, I think I'll pass. After only three weeks, the locomotive had a breakdown, and commuters were left quite literally in the cold.

Given that a well maintained diesel engine is incredibly reliable (most ships have only one, despite the need to power through storms), this is not exactly good news for the program. The news gets worse, though; all five locomotives have had the same part, a throttle housing, replaced.

In short, somebody really screwed up in procurement, and this was compounded by failures in maintenance. Thankfully for the riders, a private company sent one of its own locomotives along the only transcontinental railroad line built without government subsidies (thanks Mr. Hill!) to pull the carriages to warmth. As Mitch notes, commuter rail has the best chance of success, but it doesn't appear that they're doing too well right now.

And if you really wanted to make rail work, I still think you'd put a small diesel (say the Cummins unit Dodge uses for pickups) in each carriage and have each one power itself--and others in case one engine has difficulties. You'd reduce the weight of the train by up to half, double its efficiency, and greatly improve its reliability as well.