- Locomotives older than 23 years old will be banned starting in 2030.
- New locomotives sold for passenger service must be “zero emission” locomotives as of 2030.
- New locomotives sold for freight service must be “zero emission” by 2035.
- Locomotives will need to be battery powered electric, or overhead line powered electric. The latter certainly is workable (see trains in Europe) but would require large infrastructure construction over the next 6 years.
The costs of all consumer goods that are shipped by rail, and bulk materials, including grain and materials in construction, is expected to rise due to the higher costs.
The California rules will be de facto in effect nationwide – even though the residents of the other 49 states have no ability to comment upon or influence California’s rules. This because railroads cross state lines and what happens there will cross into other states.
It is possible that this will have the unintended side effect of increasing the transport of goods by semi-trucks, adding to congestion and wear on the highways.
More: California Wants to Ban Your Choo-Choo – WSJ
The main issue – to me – is the short time frame. 2030 is six years away. As I have mentioned many times, huge public or quasi-public infrastructure projects – like installing electric lines and generation capacity along all rail lines – will likely more than six years. Indeed, if they were to begin now, it will take 2 or more years just to get the permits approved in California. Gov. Newsom is engaged in magical thinking.
This will probably end up as a race against time to install overhead power lines for railroads – and may very well get extended because of the inability to complete this work in six years.
