California Wants Trains To Be Zero Emission By 2030

Hey, guess who’s going to pay for most of this, because a goodly chunk of the trains are owned and operated by government, and any who are private will pass the costs on to consumers

California to Require ‘Zero Emissions’ Passenger Trains After 2030, Freight After 2035

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has enacted new regulations that will require “zero emissions” trains to be introduced after 2030, focusing on a sector often seen as a “green” alternative to cars and trucks.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports:

Under the new regulations, zero-emissions models will be required for all switch, industrial and passenger locomotives built after 2030 and for all freight line locomotives built after 2035. Any non-zero emissions locomotive that is 23 years old or more will not be allowed to operate in the state past 2030.

The regulations also require train operators to open a spending account by July 2024 that they must deposit into every year to purchase or lease cleaner diesel trains and buy zero-emissions infrastructure. Operators that generate more pollutants are required to deposit more into the spending account, and the amount required to be deposited would also increase every year.

It is unclear how the new regulations on trains would affect interstate commerce, which is regulated by Congress under the U.S. Constitution, since many trains in California also travel through other states.

Good question: what about Amtrak? What about freight trains that cross into and out of California? Oh, hey, what’s this going to do the already insanely overpriced bullet train, which is years behind and has not even started any operations? Is it even possible to do away with diesel powered trains in favor of electric? Does the board understand how heavy they are and how much power it requires to get them moving and stop them, particularly for freight trains? Perhaps operators like CSX and Union Pacific should stop at the state line and say “come and get the goods.” There’s seriously no replacement.

Now, when it comes to subways and smaller passenger lines, sure, they could potentially replace them with electric. And the taxes of the Comrades in the People’s Republik Of California will get to foot the bill.

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