Recliner wrote:


For example, after Captain Deltic described the Desiro as a lardbutt,
Siemens has responded with a new lightweight Desiro City train. It
claims that, "The lightweight design of the train and the bogies
combined with an intelligent vehicle control system reduce overall
energy consumption by up to 50 per cent compared to preceding models."
http://w1.siemens.com/press/en/pressrelease/?press=/en/pressrelease/2009/mobility/imo20090736.htm


Don't forget upgrading the power supply to cope with regen braking and
the likely differences in power consumption curves between 1960s and
2000s era motors, as detailed in Cap'n D's Southern Power Upgrade stuff
a few years back. It's not wholly surprising that a larger fleet of new
trains running more frequently with different motor characteristics and
regen would require a power supply upgrade in tandem.

Tom