Designing a water-balanced railway

Is the water-balanced railway a sustainable solution?

Think about the following.

• The water-balanced railway uses rainwater collected in a reservoir above CAT's site. The reservoir was built over 150 years ago to power a waterwheel.
• Before it is used on the railway, the water passes through a turbine and creates electricity.
• The railway uses very little electricity, most of which is generated from wind, water and solar power, rather than from oil, gas or coal.
• The braking system stores energy. This is used to run systems and pump water back uphill.
• The railway is built from materials that took little energy to produce, were not chemically treated and did not increase deforestation.
• Timber either came from demolished buildings or was bought from a local estate where it could be replanted (little energy was needed to transport it).
• The rails came from a disused railway.
• Local suppliers and labour were used to build the railway.

Sustainable building materials

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