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It seems we have both, but mainly welded apparently they are stretched to some how reduce the effect.Notes on summer delays from Network rail

There are almost no electrically powered freight trains in the US.

Actually they are all electric, just with an onboard diesel generator. Is it possible to adapt these engines to use overhead lines when available?

The diesel engine is a very heavy part of the train (as batteries would be).

A big advantage -- certainly the main one used to justify electrification of existing railways in the UK -- is faster journey times. That's partly because the top speed is higher, but also because the decreased weight and increased power produce faster acceleration (and deceleration).

See http://www.networkrail.co.uk/aspx/12273.aspx -- other advantages are more seats (no room taken up by engines), less wear on the track (so lower maintenance cost), less maintenance of the train (diesel trains still have electric motors), less noise, and no pollution in towns or at stations.

All the data is a direct copy from a DOT report - linked in the article. You'll see that it is accurate and valid. If you disagree with the DOT, you'll have to find another source.

The DoT report says (just before table 2.15, and other places) that the data between the different modes isn't comparable...

- in the related link, he compares imaginary cars from the future (weighing 100-200lb)

Those cars aren't imaginary. We can build one right now, it just won't be very safe. That's why he promotes robocars (which I have my own opinions about). What he's really talking about is an electric bike/motorcycle/trike, which is the most efficient method of motorised transport in the US, hands down. If you notice, he compares electric vehicles with Japanese light rail, and note that a solo Tesla (many small EV cars like the Rav4 have strikingly similar results) has similar efficiency. If you put the average number of people in that car, you get virtually the same exact number. The Japanese do only %50 of their miles in cars, the lowest in the G8, so I think they might know something about public transport.

Electricity is cheap. There's not much incentive to reduce the electricity consumption of a train.
The current electricity charge for freight (I can't find it for passenger trains) in Britain is £1.88 / kgtm (thousand grosse-tonne miles?!). (source is document G.) A fast (not high speed) electric train weighs roughly 500 tonnes (50 tonnes per vehicle), on a 100 mile journey the electricity charge is less than £10 (assuming it's similar to freight). Since the electricity seems to be charged by mass, not usage, there's no incentive to buy a more efficient train.

However, presumably in some places electricity usage is more important, so we can expect it to decrease as the technology from hybrid/electric cars finds its way into trains.

I'm currently working on a giant report that includes all the externalities, including noise, health, and route costs. The preliminary results are strikingly in favor of cars,

(I assume you mean electric cars?)

A bicycle in use produces no pollutants at all - that's true, but their are health consequences to riding bicycles. I have not taken into account all the costs, but the cost of broken bones + knee damage are all issues we will be looking at.

The British government decided the health benefits outweighed the risks (people taking regular exercise are healthier, and less likely to take a day off work. Car accidents are more expensive to clear up, in countries with more cycling there are less cycling accidents per cyclist-km). The Norwegian government decided the same, and any public sector employees cycling to work are paid part of the saving.

trains produce the pollutants in a single place (at the power plant) - yep, and so do electric vehicles. They produce less pollutants as well because they are electric and more efficient by nature. They have a problem though, they run during the day, and I'm not sure if new powerplants need to be built to handle train demands.

There are some hybrid trains, if this becomes a problem, but I'd be surprised if it does: you may as well put a big battery near the railway line. (Or any other way of storing power.)

Cars need to be parked, eight bikes can use the same space, trains don't need to be parked where space is a premium (perhaps include the station building area here) - the problem is the premium on space. In a tiny, cramped city like New York, cars are a bad idea. But, in a low density suburban community like San Jose, cars are way better.

This is the heart of the problem: someone in NYC might commute 5-10 miles. It will take a lot of ine

London Underground - ALL suspended until further notice (not likely to be today) It is advised NOT to travel into London Marylebone, Cannon Street, Liverpool Street, Kings Cross, St Pancras, Euston, Victoria, Paddington, and Charing Cross are all closed until further notice Thameslink Rail services are not running AT ALL. Brighton and East Croydon stations are closed due to a security alert. According to National Rail Enquiries, Southern trains services are running "normal" services OUT OF LONDON only. Gatwick Express is still running but terminating at Clapham Junction. Heathrow Express has been terminated until further notice. It seems trains are running as far as Clapham Junction. Stations are being periodically closed and re-opened after they have been security checked so do call National Rail enquiries to check your journey first. Trains are of course going to be delayed by varying amounts as a result. Checking your journey by calling national rail enquiries is of course recommended - 08457 484950 option 2 Websites - http://www.networkrail.co.uk/ and particularly http://nrekb.com/london_underground.html

it was determined that Railtrack was not carrying out its job correctly and seized back the UK rail network after having a UK court agree, placing it in control of a public company called Network Rail

and the difference between railtrack and network rail is the name. Anything else? The same people are in charge after all, apart form some dude form Arthur Andersen who is a member of the Auditing Practices Board. When i think of Arthur Andersen i think of good auditing practice.

http://www.networkrail.co.uk/companyinformation/bo ard/execdirect.htm

and, just for kicks, check out the google search and spot the handy url for network rail.

http://www.google.com/search?q=network+rail

Like most things in Britain nowadays this is just spin on top of bullshit.

I'm not sure how well devoloped the British rail system is

Currently it's approximately 21,000 miles of track, 1,000 signal boxes 9,000 level crossings, and 2,500 stations. There's about 10,000 mainline passenger train movements each day in and out of central London alone. In infrastructure terms britain has the best railway in the world, and that's after more than 2/3 of the original network was decomissioned in the sixties.

For a country about the same area as Oregon or Colarado that's a lot of rails. Of course in many ways the trains are not very good, but as long as America keeps her railroads running, we know we're not the worst! ^_^