In message
"DW downunder" noname wrote:

[snip]
4. NO-ONE has mentioned the plethora of hybrid battery-equipped
rollingstock currently prototyped, on trial, in low volume production etc
around the world. Given Crossrail's gestation, can I assert with some
confidence that by then it will be quite normal for trains to extend a
moderate distance beyond the wires or juice rail. 25kV to Reading would
not necessarily be a pre-requisite to CrossRail service by the mid-10s.

Not mentioned for a very simple reason, battery technology is just not up to
the job, nor is it likely to be in the forseeable future. While it is a
feasable option for low density occasional traffic, eg the battery luggage
vans that used to be used at Dover docks, it just can't cope with the sort of
service that Crossrail will be operating.

--
Graeme Wall

This address not read, substitute trains for rail
Transport Miscellany at www.greywall.demon.co.uk/rail