Technology

Standing next to trains as they pass, or on one's with open decks, you'll know they produce a lot of wind. I assume under the train this is even stronger, with a strong low pressure area. This should be able to clear most obstructions without an issue whenever a train passes. Sure, it'll also toss more on, but there's some equilibrium that it'll reach and it shouldn't ever get worse. My guess is that's well before it is a major issue for the panels.

The cleanliness of the panels isn't actually as big a deal as it's made out to be. Like yeah, they can't be completely obscured, but you'd be surprised at how fucking filthy they can be and still make juice. Or half-or more- covered with trees, or other shade.

Right now, my panels are covered in enough crap I really should hose them off, and they're still kicking 20 amps. So ahhh... fuck it. Maybe it'll rain and I won't have to.

Same with cloudy days-sometimes I get more power on cloudy days because the panels don't get at hot. Hell, some streetlights put out enough light to harvest energy from-but they're largely getting replaced with LED's. Sad face?

I expect with the type of traffic going on between rails, these will need vanishingly little maintenance. I hope it goes well

If the tracks are used as the wires

They're not. Swiss rails are extra made so that you can walk over them. All electricity goes overhead for security reasons. If anything, they would probably tap into this overhead-grid.

cleaning & maintenance

possibly. But I can very easily imagine specialized trains cleaning them once every day

vandalism

not really a problem here in switzerland

modifying the track to limit the conductive paths (assuming they’re used for this).

They're most likely not used for this. All electricity is overhead for security reasons, routing solar energy through the rails would destroy that. Doing that (beyond the 100m test-track) would mean a prolongued political discussion.

Throw a few of those sexy lady mud flaps on the back of a train with a hose. Darn near auto squeegee!

One more reason. The reason they tell people not to lay on the tracks under the train, the freaking cables and chains that could come loose and dangle under the cars and drag along the ground that would cut you in half the long way. Those loose parts would just destroy the solar panels.

Solar panels need to be on every home and how new builds in many countries still don't require them baffles me.

NIMBYs and their freedoms* to do whatever they want.

*not applied to not wanting "golf grass", wanting a different color of paint on the house, etc.

In France, solar panels are mandatory for roofs of commercial and industrial buildings and also car parks occupying 500 m² or more of ground surface need to be covered by solar.

And you can repair them without needing to shut down a whole railway. All these projects to put solar panels in novel places are totally pointless and solving a problem that doesn't exist.

This isn't nearly that dumb, because the train isn't actually riding directly on top of the solar cells.

Actually, yes, I do. SOLAR FREAKING ROADWAYS

Yeah, I looked up the French solar roadways after seeing this to see the headline of 'total disaster'. So as expected.

Maybe it’s like a blanket that the train picks up over its head and runs underneath, setting it back down on the ground after it

I was looking for this comment so I can vent my extreme irritation to the world.

God, can this concept please die already‽ If you want to put solar panels where the cars/trains are, just 👏 fucking 👏 put 👏 them 👏 on 👏 top👏

Do not put them on the ground where they will get smushed and covered in dust and snow and dirt. do not. Just make a little roof for the train tracks/road/bike path/sidewalk/game trail/snail raceway and then put the panels on top of the roof and then if you're feeling fancy angle the panels to point towards the sun and if you're feeling really quite fancy then you can use bifacial panels to capture the backscatter from the ground and shit and then we can all be happy. solar ground no, solar roof yes, ground no roof yes. do not play the trolley problem with solar panels on the railroad tracks. we have been doing solar energy for decades and have fucking minmaxed this shit so why are they still trying to do this just STOP.

Fuck.

Person I'm responding to, please know that none of this is directed at you. I'm just sour right now and should get off the internet.