JR East has been running the EV-E801 BEMU on the Oga line (Akita prefecture) for the better part of a decade. It can run about 110kph under wires and 85kph on battery with a battery size of 360kWh, arranged in a 2-car set.
It’s a proven unit built for 1,067mm gauge and doesn’t seem to be over-engineered for the task at hand, if Gatton is the interim objective terminus.
Potential media release here:
I thought it was impossible to electrify through the tunnels without killing the heritage element? Or maybe they just need to be dug down so far it’s more cost effective to reroute?
You could do it, but you’d have to dig down far enough that you don’t rely on the tunnel structure to hold the overhead lines. Victoria tunnel is brick lined and of 1860s construction - no way you could bolt overhead line equipment into it so it would have to stand independently.
I been wondering how the final stage from Withcott to Toowoomba would be built despite the steep Tollbar range. Would the train continue its way up the Tollbar, or would passengers at Withcott transfer to a Swiss-style rack railway, Indian style toy train, or Bolivian style gondola?
I see it more likely they build a direct rail connection to Toowoomba via Murphy’s Creek as an upgrade of the Main Line due to smaller gradients than from Withcott.
That’s why the Withcott spur doesn’t work, it’s too close to the range for it to be able to get up it. Murphy’s Creek is the go for sure.