TKS
My electrical engineering background says about the same, but I am from the engineering vintage of vacuum tubes, hands on labs, etc.
I think that more important than having your power bus perfectly parallel, is to have your wiring separated by purpose.
That is, the throttle bus should be a few inches away from your track bus, which should be a few inches away from your DC accessory power, etc. That way, you won't get any inductive interference.
Otherwise just follow good, neat wiring practices and you should be fine. I've never heard of metal benchwork having any adverse effect on wiring, as long as it's insulated properly (which it sounds like yours will be). I think it's more common for it to "absorb" the signals from wireless throttles.
HTH, Steve
In the book "DCC Made Easy" , Lionel Strang says to "be sure to keep the wires(power bus) underneath your layout parallel to each other-----". My benchwork frame is constructed from steel wall framing material, ie studs, etc. overlaid with 5/8" plywood and 2 " sheathing foam. There are large insulated hole in the the framing thru which I planned to run the wiring in a bundled form.
How important is it to keep these wires parallel, and will the steel framing cause any concerns?
Bobkro
PS-first time DCC user.