NOVELTY - An electrical power generation system for a railroad system having a rail (14, 16), comprises a first and second electrical capacitance portions that are electrically coupled to a power generation device (24) and that are configured to store positive and negative charge respectively, where first and second electrical capacitance portions are configured to move with respect to one another in response to a vehicle operating on the rail.    USE - The electrical power generation system is for a railroad system having a rail. It is used for generating electric power via a vehicle traveling on a rail. It is useful for a transportation system (claimed). The rails are configured to carry vehicles, such as trains, trams, or testing vehicles.    ADVANTAGE - The power generation device effectively primes the variable capacitor, and the energy of this priming is multiplied by varying the distance between the capacitor plates. By alternately priming the variable capacitor using power from the power source and discharging it at a later time in a cyclic manner to change the capacitance, a large amount of electrical energy is produced due to change in capacitance in comparison to the electrical energy and power from the power source itself.    DETAILED DESCRIPTION - An electrical power generation system for a railroad system having a rail comprises a power generation device; a first and second electrical capacitance portions that are electrically coupled to the power generation device and that are configured to store positive and negative charge respectively; and a biasing device configured to separate the first and second capacitance portions with respect to one another, where first and second electrical capacitance portions are configured to move with respect to one another in response to a vehicle operating on the rail. An INDEPENDENT CLAIM is also included for a method of generating electric power via a vehicle traveling on a rail, comprising driving a first capacitor plate with respect to a second capacitor plate in response to a vehicle operating on the rail; charging the first and second capacitor plates; and biasing the first and second plates apart from one another.    DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING(S) - The figure is a diagrammatical representation of a railway monitoring system.    Rail (14, 16)    Power tie (22)    Power generation device (24)    Sensing device (26)    Processor (28)    Communication circuitry (30)