On 08/02/2019 15:08, Robin wrote:
On 08/02/2019 10:58, Bevan Price wrote:
On 08/02/19 4:14, Recliner wrote:
The DfT remains consistent in its dislike of OHLE

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/battery-powered-trams-to-beat-congestion-pzz3p9jk3?shareToken=d7efc8230f20d995b8ea4bff5daae 175




As usual, the incompetent DfT only thinks about short term costs of
initial construction, not the long term running / operating costs.

Batteries have a finite life. You can recharge them, but they
eventually deteriorate, hold less charge, and have to be replaced -
and they are not cheap to replace.

Moreover, you use additional energy to convey the weight of the
batteries on every journey, instead of getting energy from fixed
overhead wires to move a vehicle that is lighter due to the absence of
batteries.

And before anyone suggests fuel cells, they also have finite lives,
and to function, they often rely on the presence of rare, expensive,
precious metals (platinum, palladium, rhodium, etc.)


All of those factors would be included in the appraisal of costs and
benefits of competing options - bus, battery tram, OHLE etc - over the
the life of the project.

You would think that they ought to do that, but on past history, does
anyone here trust the civil service to get anything right ????


I recognise however that many proponents of trams argue that that is the
wrong approach, and that conventional overhead powered trams ought to be
chosen even if they will cost more for the same quantifiable benefits,
because they are just better.