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Re:Caltrain's electric fleet more efficient than expected by mikepurvis on Friday January 24, 2025 @11:38PM (#42819545)
Firstly, I believe the trains are EMUs, so every bogey is powered rather than having the whole thing hailed by an engine; this is actually a huge benefit of electric as the trains can accelerate to speed much faster when they’re all wheel drive.

But to address your main point, the rolling resistance of a train in motion is tiny; basically all the energy cost is at acceleration time— it probably cruises at like 5-10% power.

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