Photovoltaics are still running after a year under Swiss trains

https://www.theregister.com/offbeat/2026/07/13/photovoltaics-are-still-running-after-a-year-under-swiss-trains/5269664

by manarth • 10 days ago

22 13 10 days ago

manarth• 10 days ago

Pilot to place solar panels in the space between train tracks shown to be a success.

dbrgn• 10 days ago

A lot of people doubted this could work. After all, railway tracks are a dusty, hot environment with tons of vibrations that could cause microcracks.

I was in the doubter team too, but if this really worked out, that's great news. Congrats to the project team! Will be interesting to see if this scales well.

kansface• 9 days ago

The panels probably need 5-8 years in that location to be energy positive. A year is great, but doesn’t prove much.

pseudohadamard• 9 days ago

And if you simply install them in the empty space next to the tracks, where there's no vibration or other problems and you can angle them optimally for solar capture, you get the same benefits without having to custom manufacture panels that are extra-tough to deal with the fact that you've installed them in one of the worst possible places to put panels. They never mention what those armour-plated panels cost, what effect they have on track maintenance, and what their efficiency is due to suboptimal placing compared to next to the track at the right angle. Heck, put in bifacials and you can swap out existing noise barriers for power-generating ones.

It's a case of "given enough thrust, pigs can indeed fly" rather than an actually useful idea.

casey2• 9 days ago

Could they at least get a well-lit picture of panels that aren't covered in dirt and rocks? This is a lying eyes situation now. Depressing.

NetMageSCW• 9 days ago

Like the picture in the article?

JR1427• 9 days ago

What are the advantages to putting them between the rails, where you need trains to stop running in order to access them?

If it's about using wasted land, why not put them beside the rails, which would make access easier? There is usually a generous margin beside the tracks.

This would also allow bigger panels to be used.

alnwlsn• 9 days ago

I think the idea is that you can make a machine that goes on the rails and installs them automatically. So you don't need to haul a bunch of equipment on site, you just drive one special train down the track once.

Scoundreller• 9 days ago

Same for washing the panels. Could even work a system onto already-running trains.

And the RightOfWay is already maintained to keep thin grasses & trees away that may fall on a line.

Often the line is already built-up for flood prevention.

In some (most? All?) countries, the railway has free reign and doesn’t need to answer to city/municipal/states/provinces for approvals on anything.

A main “downside” is the poor production in winter/mornings/evenings on ground-parallel panels. e.g. France has huge solar capacity, they tend to be heavy electricity exporters in summer and heavy importers in winter. One of their new tariffs offers discounts except for 22 days in winter.

https://www.rte-france.com/en/data-publications/eco2mix/powe...

0 degree panels produce the most when electricity is valued the least.

Output should be measured in currency, not MWh.

foxyv• 9 days ago

I think the biggest advantage rails have is that they are electrified and are accessible by rail based maintenance vehicles. Panels have gotten so inexpensive that the major cost is usually the mounting, installation, and electrical access. Some of that is mitigated by installing on railways. You can automate the installation process and connect into the tram lines.

red-iron-pine• 9 days ago

"generous margin beside the tracks" is being, well, generous. there often isn't that much space, and it often already has cabling, phoneline, pipes, or other stuff there.

augur cars overturn the soil and lay pipe but now the fiber optic lines would compete with the solar.

meanwhile track lines are untapped, and often use electricity or having wiring for local induction loop

cjbenedikt• 9 days ago

I often wonder about some of the more critical comments on projects like this. It should be welcomed by everybody that someone even tries. If it doesn't work - well at least we know. If it does - even better. Anyone who has ever started a hardware company like this group would know who challenging this can be no matter what. But to do that in such a highly regulated environment? Methinks it is very impressive that they got that far and hopefully will go further!

WalterGR• 9 days ago

"Solar rail could become common in Europe after successful trial in Switzerland" (euronews.com)

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48794704

112 points | 8 days ago | 145 comments

Photovoltaics are still running after a year under Swiss trains

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