Could trains in the United States be powered with electric batteries? What about hydrogen fuel cells or biofuel? A researcher at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute is one of a team of scientists exploring what it could take to move trains through alternate types of energy.
“The easiest one would be to go to a diesel hybrid,” said Hesham Rakha, director of the Center for Sustainable Mobility at VTTI. He is one of the researchers on the study, funded by the Department of Energy, and said converting trains to an electric-diesel hybrid model would reduce CO2 emissions by 15%.
Electric batteries would be more energy efficient— but reducing CO2 emissions would depend on the power source used to charge batteries.
Across the world, other countries are converting their train systems to run without diesel. About 60% of passenger trains in Germany run on electricity. A researcher from Germany’s train system, Deutsche Bahn was also involved in the study.
“They actually told us that they have a separate grid for the trains,” Rakha said.
Which means they can pull directly from renewable sources to power the trains instead of relying on the national electric grid.
Here in the United States, Amtrak just ordered a new fleet of trains which are more energy efficient, but will still use diesel fuel. Those trains are being produced and will be rolled out in 2026, including on passenger rail here in Virginia. Amtrak also recently announced plans to be net zero by 2045, which means reducing all their greenhouse gas emissions. They’ll transition their entire fleet of trains to run on electric by 2035.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
