Lets do the math. The proposal was to electrify 36,000 route miles of track. Lets say that those 36,000 miles could be electrified for $500,000 a mile (a very low ball estimate).
That means it would cost $18 trillion dollars to electrify the 36,000 miles (that doesn't include new service facilities, the engines, the proposed double tracking, modifications to bridges and tunnels).
The UP had a capital budget of $3 billion dollars (info on their website), which is among the largest of any US railroad. Lets assume the big 4 class 1's all had that size budget. That's $12 billion dollars a year of capital improvements.
If ALL the class 1's put their ENTIRE capital improvement budget into electrification(they didn't add any new tracks, no new cars, no new locomotives, no new rail or ties, no new signal systems) it would take them on 1250 years to pay for the electrification.
About 1/3 the locomotive fleet are low horsepower engines used for switching and local service. They would have to be retained. Conservatively about half the trains will at some point go on a no-strategic route for all or part of their trip, so at least 1/2 of the road engines (1/3 of the total) will be retained to protect the non-strategic routes. So by committing the entire capital improvement budget for the next millenium, the major railroads can cut their diesel fuel consumption by maybe 1/3. But since they would have to pay for electricity, their total energy bill wouldn't go down that much, maybe only 25-30%.
Still sound like a good deal? Give up all your improvement money for the next 40 generations to effectively lower the price of diesel from $4 a gallon to $3 a gallon?
Dave H.