Are diesel trains more powerful than electric?

Power plant capacity is far greater than any individual locomotive uses, so electric locomotives can have a higher power output than diesel locomotives and they can produce even higher short-term surge power for fast acceleration. Electric locomotives are ideal for commuter rail service with frequent stops.



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All hail Mother Russia: with 17,838 horsepower, the Novocherkassk 4E5K locomotive is the most powerful in the world.

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Electric Trains vs. Diesel-powered trains transfer about 30-35 percent of the energy generated by combustion to the wheels, while supplying electricity directly from an overhead powerline transfers about 95 percent of the energy to the wheels.

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Power plant capacity is far greater than any individual locomotive uses, so electric locomotives can have a higher power output than diesel locomotives and they can produce even higher short-term surge power for fast acceleration. Electric locomotives are ideal for commuter rail service with frequent stops.

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Every battery locomotive that replaces a diesel will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 3,000 tons per year, Wabtec estimates. But it is unlikely they can quickly replace diesel-powered trains.

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As wireless technologies advanced in the 1960s, freight railroads began adding extra locomotives to the rear of trains to give them enough power to climb steep hills. This is how distributed power was born.

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Diesels can still operate on electrified lines, they simply do not pull power from the overhead wires, instead burning diesel to generate power. There are no clearance problems for diesels to operate on electrified lines.

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The Union Pacific Centennial is the largest and most powerful diesel locomotive ever built.

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Usually 30 to 50 years but a diesel engine might be replaced by a more modern and efficient model after half that time. Likewise a locomotive's electronics can be upgraded, or adjustments to new signalling systems made.

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Diesel locomotive engines are a major contributor to air pollution. The culprits are NOx SO2. Both are readily produced by diesel locomotives and both cause an array of health and environmental problems.

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American freight trains are often long, heavy, and drive slowly. So, American diesel locomotives are build for that kind of work. That means they have to be heavy to be able to deliver the tractive effort to pull such trains. Otherwise the wheels would slip on the tracks.

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Diesel trains are more versatile as they can work on the almost 60% of lines that aren't electrified and the portion that is. Diesel power can also transport exceptionally heavy loads and so is often used in the freight sector.

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If we take an overall view of the transport sector, 71% of transportation related carbon emissions come from road users, whereas only 1.8% of emissions stem from rail travel. So in absolute terms, trains are responsible for a lot less emissions than cars.

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