Zero-Emission Rail Traction Comparator

National railways decarbonising a line choose between three traction systems, each with a different cost structure. Overhead electrification gives a train unlimited range from the grid but requires continuous, capital-intensive catenary and substations along the whole corridor. Battery-electric and hydrogen fuel-cell trains need none of that trackside infrastructure — they carry their own energy — but the onboard pack or tank has to be sized to the route, and every extra kilowatt-hour or kilogram of hydrogen adds weight the train then has to haul, eating into the range it bought. This simulator runs a train over an adjustable hilly route under each system, computing real tractive-force physics (grade, rolling resistance, aerodynamic drag) so you can see energy consumption, onboard reserve, achievable range and estimated infrastructure cost respond as you change the terrain, payload, storage size and speed.