Anelectric locomotive is alocomotive powered byelectricity fromoverhead lines, athird rail or on-boardenergy storage such as abattery or asupercapacitor. Locomotives with on-board fuelledprime movers, such asdiesel engines orgas turbines, are classed asdiesel–electric orgas turbine–electric and not as electric locomotives, because the electric generator/motor combination serves only as apower transmission system.
Electric locomotives benefit from the high efficiency of electric motors, often above 90% (not including the inefficiency of generating the electricity). Additional efficiency can be gained fromregenerative braking, which allowskinetic energy to be recovered during braking to put power back on the line. Newer electric locomotives use AC motor-inverter drive systems that provide for regenerative braking. Electric locomotives are quiet compared to diesel locomotives since there is no engine and exhaust noise and less mechanical noise. The lack of reciprocating parts means electric locomotives are easier on the track, reducing track maintenance. 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 forcommuter rail service with frequent stops. Electric locomotives are used on freight routes with consistently high traffic volumes, or in areas with advanced rail networks. Power plants, even if they burnfossil fuels, are far cleaner than mobile sources such as locomotive engines. The power can also come fromlow-carbon orrenewable sources, includinggeothermal power,hydroelectric power,biomass,solar power,nuclear power andwind turbines.[1] Electric locomotives usually cost 20% less than diesel locomotives, their maintenance costs are 25–35% lower, and cost up to 50% less to run.[2]
The chief disadvantage of electrification is the high cost for infrastructure: overhead lines or third rail, substations, and control systems. The impact of this varies depending on local laws and regulations. For example, public policy in the U.S. interferes with electrification: higher property taxes are imposed on privately owned rail facilities if they are electrified.[citation needed] The EPA regulates exhaust emissions on locomotive and marine engines, similar to regulations on car & freight truck emissions, in order to limit the amount of carbon monoxide, unburnt hydrocarbons, nitric oxides, and soot output from these mobile power sources.[3] Because railroad infrastructure is privately owned in the U.S., railroads are unwilling to make the necessary investments for electrification. In Europe and elsewhere, railway networks are considered part of the national transport infrastructure, just like roads, highways and waterways, so are often financed by the state.[citation needed] Operators of the rolling stock pay fees according to rail use. This makes possible the large investments required for the technically and, in the long-term, also economically advantageous electrification.
The first known electric locomotive was built in 1837 by chemistRobert Davidson ofAberdeen, and it was powered bygalvanic cells (batteries). Davidson later built a larger locomotive namedGalvani, exhibited at theRoyal Scottish Society of Arts Exhibition in 1841. The seven-ton vehicle had twodirect-drivereluctance motors, with fixed electromagnets acting on iron bars attached to a wooden cylinder on each axle, and simplecommutators. It hauled a load of six tons at four miles per hour (6 kilometers per hour) for a distance of one and a half miles (2.4 kilometres). It was tested on theEdinburgh and Glasgow Railway in September of the following year, but the limited power from batteries prevented its general use. It was destroyed by railway workers, who saw it as a threat to their job security.[4][5][6]
Thefirst electric passenger train and first electric locomotive powered by a generator was presented byWerner von Siemens atBerlin in 1879.[7] The locomotive was driven by a 2.2 kW, series-wound motor, and the train, consisting of the locomotive and three cars, reached a speed of 13 km/h. During four months, the train carried 90,000 passengers on a 300-meter-long (980-foot) circular track. The electricity (150 V DC) was supplied through a third insulated rail between the tracks. A contact roller was used to collect the electricity.
The world's first electric tram line opened in Lichterfelde near Berlin, Germany, in 1881. It was built by Werner von Siemens (seeGross-Lichterfelde Tramway andBerlin Straßenbahn).Volk's Electric Railway opened in 1883 in Brighton. Also in 1883,Mödling and Hinterbrühl Tram opened near Vienna in Austria. It was the first in the world in regular service powered from an overhead line. Five years later, in the U.S. electrictrolleys were pioneered in 1888 on theRichmond Union Passenger Railway, using equipment designed byFrank J. Sprague.[8]
The first electrified Hungarian railway lines were opened in 1887. Budapest (See:BHÉV):Ráckeve line (1887),Szentendre line (1888),Gödöllő line (1888),Csepel line (1912).[9]
Much of the early development of electric locomotion was driven by the increasing use of tunnels, particularly in urban areas. Smoke from steam locomotives was noxious and municipalities were increasingly inclined to prohibit their use within their limits. The first electrically workedunderground line was theCity and South London Railway, prompted by a clause in its enabling act prohibiting the use of steam power.[10] It opened in 1890, using electric locomotives built byMather and Platt. Electricity quickly became the power supply of choice for subways, abetted by Sprague's invention ofmultiple-unit train control in 1897. Surface and elevatedrapid transit systems generally used steam until forced to convert by ordinance.
The first use of electrification on an American main line was on a four-mile stretch of theBaltimore Belt Line of theBaltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) in 1895 connecting the main portion of the B&O to the new line to New York through a series of tunnels around the edges of Baltimore's downtown. Parallel tracks on thePennsylvania Railroad had shown that coal smoke fromsteam locomotives would be a major operating issue and a public nuisance. ThreeBo+Bo units were initially used, the EL-1 Model. At the south end of the electrified section; they coupled onto the locomotive and train and pulled it through the tunnels.[11] Railroad entrances toNew York City required similar tunnels and the smoke problems were more acute there. A collision in the Park Avenue tunnel in 1902 led the New York State legislature to outlaw the use of smoke-generating locomotives south of theHarlem River after 1 July 1908. In response, electric locomotives began operation in 1904 on theNew York Central Railroad. In the 1930s, thePennsylvania Railroad, which had introduced electric locomotives because of the NYC regulation, electrified its entire territory east ofHarrisburg, Pennsylvania.
The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul, and Pacific Railroad (theMilwaukee Road), the last transcontinental line to be built, electrified its lines across theRocky Mountains and to the Pacific Ocean starting in 1915. A few East Coastlines, notably theVirginian Railway and theNorfolk and Western Railway, electrified short sections of their mountain crossings. However, by this point electrification in the United States was more associated with dense urban traffic and the use of electric locomotives declined in the face of dieselization.[12] Diesel shared some of the electric locomotive's advantages over steam and the cost of building and maintaining the power supply infrastructure, which discouraged new installations, brought on the elimination of most main-line electrification outside the Northeast. Except for a few captive systems (e.g. theDeseret Power Railroad), by 2000 electrification was confined to theNortheast Corridor and some commuter service; even there, freight service was handled by diesel. Development continued in Europe, where electrification was widespread. 1,500 V DC is still used on some lines near France and 25 kV 50 Hz is used by high-speed trains.[6]
The first practicalAC electric locomotive was designed byCharles Brown, then working forOerlikon, Zürich. In 1891, Brown had demonstrated long-distance power transmission for theInternational Electrotechnical Exhibition, usingthree-phase AC, between ahydro–electric plant atLauffen am Neckar and the expo site atFrankfurt am Main West, a distance of 280 km. Using experience he had gained while working forJean Heilmann on steam–electric locomotive designs, Brown observed thatthree-phase motors had a higherpower-to-weight ratio thanDC motors and, because of the absence of acommutator, were simpler to manufacture and maintain.[i] However, they were much larger than the DC motors of the time and could not be mounted in underfloorbogies: they could only be carried within locomotive bodies.[14] In 1896, Oerlikon installed the first commercial example of the system on theLugano Tramway. Each 30-tonne locomotive had two 110 kW (150 hp) motors run by three-phase 750 V 40 Hz fed from double overhead lines. Three-phase motors run at a constant speed and provideregenerative braking and are thus well suited to steeply graded routes; in 1899 Brown (by then in partnership withWalter Boveri) supplied the first main-line three-phase locomotives to the 40 kmBurgdorf–Thun railway (highest point 770 metres), Switzerland. The first implementation of industrial frequency single-phase AC supply for locomotives came from Oerlikon in 1901, using the designs ofHans Behn-Eschenburg andEmil Huber-Stockar; installation on the Seebach-Wettingen line of the Swiss Federal Railways was completed in 1904. The 15 kV, 50 Hz 345 kW (460 hp), 48 tonne locomotives used transformers and rotary converters to power DC traction motors.[15]
In 1894, Hungarian engineerKálmán Kandó developed a new type 3-phase asynchronous electric drive motors and generators for electric locomotives at theFives-Lille Company. Kandó's early 1894 designs were first applied in a short three-phase AC tramway inÉvian-les-Bains (France), which was constructed between 1896 and 1898.[16][17][18][19][20]In 1918,[21] Kandó invented and developed therotary phase converter, enabling electric locomotives to use three-phase motors whilst supplied via a single overhead wire, carrying the simple industrial frequency (50 Hz) single phase AC of the high voltage national networks.[22]
Italian railways were the first in the world to introduce electric traction for the entire length of a mainline rather than just a short stretch. The 106 km Valtellina line was opened on 4 September 1902, designed by Kandó and a team from theGanz Works.[23][22] The electrical system was three-phase at 3 kV 15 Hz. The voltage was significantly higher than used earlier and it required new designs for electric motors and switching devices.[24][25] The three-phase two-wire system was used on several railways in Northern Italy and became known as "the Italian system". Kandó was invited in 1905 to undertake the management of Società Italiana Westinghouse and led the development of several Italian electric locomotives.[24] During the period of electrification of the Italian railways, tests were made as to which type of power to use: in some sections there was a 3,600 V16+2⁄3 Hz three-phase power supply, in others there was 1,500 V DC, 3 kV DC and 10 kV AC 45 Hz supply. After WW2, 3 kV DC power was chosen for the entire Italian railway system.[26]
A later development of Kandó, working with both theGanz works andSocieta Italiana Westinghouse, was anelectro-mechanical converter, allowing the use of three-phase motors from single-phase AC, eliminating the need for two overhead wires.[27] In 1923, the first phase-converter locomotive in Hungary was constructed on the basis of Kandó's designs and serial production began soon after. The first installation, at 16 kV 50 Hz, was in 1932 on the 56 km section of the Hungarian State Railways between Budapest andKomárom. This proved successful and the electrification was extended toHegyeshalom in 1934.[28]
In Europe, electrification projects initially focused on mountainous regions for several reasons: coal supplies were difficult,hydroelectric power was readily available, and electric locomotives gave more traction on steeper lines. This was particularly applicable in Switzerland, where almost all lines are electrified. An important contribution to the wider adoption of AC traction came fromSNCF of France afterWorld War II. The company had assessed the industrial-frequency AC line routed through the steepHöllental Valley, Germany, which was under French administration following the war. After trials, the company decided that the performance of AC locomotives was sufficiently developed to allow all its future installations, regardless of terrain, to be of this standard, with its associated cheaper and more efficient infrastructure.[29] The SNCF decision, ignoring as it did the 2,000 miles (3,200 km) of high-voltage DC already installed on French routes, was influential in the standard selected for other countries in Europe.[29]
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The 1960s saw the electrification of many European main lines. European electric locomotive technology had improved steadily from the 1920s onwards. By comparison, theMilwaukee Road class EP-2 (1918) weighed 240 t, with a power of 3,330 kW and a maximum speed of 112 km/h; in 1935, GermanE 18 had a power of 2,800 kW, but weighed only 108 tons and had a maximum speed of 150 km/h. On 29 March 1955, French locomotiveCC 7107 reached 331 km/h. In 1960 theSJ Class Dm 3 locomotives on Swedish Railways produced a record 7,200 kW. Locomotives capable of commercial passenger service at 200 km/h appeared in Germany and France in the same period. Further improvements resulted from the introduction of electronic control systems, which permitted the use of increasingly lighter and more powerful motors that could be fitted inside the bogies (standardizing from the 1990s onwards on asynchronous three-phase motors, fed through GTO-inverters).
In the 1980s, the development of very high-speed service brought further electrification. The JapaneseShinkansen and the FrenchTGV were the first systems for which devoted high-speed lines were built from scratch. Similar programs were undertaken inItaly,Germany andSpain; in the United States the only new mainline service was an extension of electrification over the Northeast Corridor fromNew Haven, Connecticut, toBoston, Massachusetts, though new electriclight rail systems continued to be built.
On 2 September 2006, a standard production Siemens electric locomotive of theEurosprinter type ES64-U4 (ÖBB Class 1216) achieved 357 km/h (222 mph), the record for a locomotive-hauled train, on the new line between Ingolstadt and Nuremberg.[30] This locomotive is now employed largely unmodified by ÖBB to haul theirRailjet which is however limited to a top speed of 230 km/h due to economic and infrastructure concerns.
An electric locomotive can be supplied with power from
The distinguishing design features of electric locomotives are:
The most fundamental difference lies in the choice of AC or DC. The earliest systems used DC, as AC was not well understood and insulation material for high voltage lines was not available. DC locomotives typically run at relatively low voltage (600 to 3,000 volts); the equipment is therefore relatively massive because the currents involved are large in order to transmit sufficient power. Power must be supplied at frequent intervals as the high currents result in large transmission system losses.
As AC motors were developed, they became the predominant type, particularly on longer routes. High voltages (tens of thousands of volts) are used because this allows the use of low currents;transmission losses are proportional to the square of the current (e.g. twice the current means four times the loss). Thus, high power can be conducted over long distances on lighter and cheaper wires. Transformers in the locomotives transform this power to a low voltage and high current for the motors.[31] A similar high voltage, low current system could not be employed with direct current locomotives because there is no easy way to do the voltage/current transformation for DC so efficiently as achieved by AC transformers.
AC traction still occasionally uses dual overhead wires instead of single-phase lines. The resultingthree-phase current drivesinduction motors, which do not have sensitivecommutators and permit easy realisation of aregenerative brake. Speed is controlled by changing the number of pole pairs in the stator circuit, with acceleration controlled by switching additional resistors in, or out, of the rotor circuit. The two-phase lines are heavy and complicated near switches, where the phases have to cross each other. The system was widely used in northern Italy until 1976 and is still in use on some Swissrack railways. The simple feasibility of a fail-safe electric brake is an advantage of the system, while speed control and the two-phase lines are problematic.
Rectifier locomotives, which used AC power transmission and DC motors, were common, though DC commutators had problems both in starting and at low velocities.[further explanation needed] Today's advanced electric locomotives use brushlessthree-phase AC induction motors. These polyphase machines are powered fromGTO-,IGCT- orIGBT-based inverters. The cost of electronic devices in a modern locomotive can be up to 50% of the cost of the vehicle.
Electric traction allows the use of regenerative braking, in which the motors are used as brakes and become generators that transform the motion of the train into electrical power that is then fed back into the lines. This system is particularly advantageous in mountainous operations, as descending locomotives can produce a large portion of the power required for ascending trains. Most systems have a characteristic voltage and, in the case of AC power, a system frequency. Many locomotives have been equipped to handle multiple voltages and frequencies as systems came to overlap or were upgraded. AmericanFL9 locomotives were equipped to handle power from two different electrical systems and could also operate as diesel–electrics.
While today's systems predominantly operate on AC, many DC systems are still in use – e.g., inSouth Africa and theUnited Kingdom (750 V and 1,500 V);Netherlands,Japan,Ireland (1,500 V);Slovenia,Belgium,Italy,Poland,Russia,Spain (3,000 V) andWashington, D.C. (750 V).
Electrical circuits require two connections (or forthree phase AC, three connections). From the beginning, the track was used for one side of the circuit. Unlikemodel railroads the track normally supplies only one side, the other side(s) of the circuit being provided separately.
Railways generally tend to preferoverhead lines, often called "catenaries" after the support system used to hold the wire parallel to the ground. Three collection methods are possible:
Of the three, the pantograph method is best suited for high-speed operation. Some locomotives use both overhead and third rail collection (e.g.British Rail Class 92).In Europe, the recommended geometry and shape of pantographs are defined by standard EN 50367/IEC 60486[32]
Mass transit systems and suburban lines often use a third rail instead of overhead wire. It allows for smaller tunnels and lower clearance under bridges, and has advantages for intensive traffic that it is a very sturdy system, not sensitive to snapping overhead wires. Some systems use four rails, especially some lines in the London Underground. One setback for third rail systems is that level crossings become more complex, usually requiring a gap section.
The originalBaltimore and Ohio Railroad electrification used a sliding pickup (acontact shoe or simply the "shoe") in an overhead channel, a system quickly found to be unsatisfactory. It was replaced by athird rail, in which a pickup rides underneath or on top of a smaller rail parallel to the main track, above ground level. There are multiple pickups on both sides of the locomotive in order to accommodate the breaks in the third rail required by trackwork. This system is preferred insubways because of the close clearances it affords.
During the initial development of railroad electrical propulsion, a number of drive systems were devised to couple the output of thetraction motors to the wheels. Early locomotives often usedjackshaft drives. In this arrangement, the traction motor is mounted within the body of the locomotive and drives the jackshaft through a set of gears. This system was employed because the first traction motors were too large and heavy to mount directly on the axles. Due to the number of mechanical parts involved, frequent maintenance was necessary. The jackshaft drive was abandoned for all but the smallest units when smaller and lighter motors were developed,
Several other systems were devised as the electric locomotive matured. TheBuchli drive was a fully spring-loaded system, in which the weight of the driving motors was completely disconnected from the driving wheels. First used in electric locomotives from the 1920s, the Buchli drive was mainly used by the FrenchSNCF andSwiss Federal Railways. Thequill drive was also developed about this time and mounted the traction motor above or to the side of the axle and coupled to the axle through a reduction gear and a hollow shaft – the quill – flexibly connected to the driving axle. ThePennsylvania Railroad GG1 locomotive used a quill drive. Again, as traction motors continued to shrink in size and weight, quill drives gradually fell out of favor in low-speed freight locomotives. In high-speed passenger locomotives used in Europe, the quill drive is still predominant.
Another drive was the "bi-polar" system, in which the motor armature was the axle itself, the frame and field assembly of the motor being attached to the truck (bogie) in a fixed position. The motor had two field poles, which allowed a limited amount of vertical movement of the armature. This system was of limited value since the power output of each motor was limited. TheEP-2 bi-polar electrics used by theMilwaukee Road compensated for this problem by using a large number of powered axles.
Modern freight electric locomotives, like theirDiesel–electric counterparts, almost universally use axle-hung traction motors, with one motor for each powered axle. In this arrangement, one side of the motor housing is supported by plain bearings riding on a ground and polished journal that is integral to the axle. The other side of the housing has a tongue-shaped protuberance that engages a matching slot in the truck (bogie) bolster, its purpose being to act as a torque reaction device, as well as support. Power transfer from the motor to the axle is effected byspur gearing, in which apinion on the motor shaft engages abull gear on the axle. Both gears are enclosed in a liquid-tight housing containing lubricating oil. The type of service in which the locomotive is used dictates the gear ratio employed. Numerically high ratios are commonly found on freight units, whereas numerically low ratios are typical of passenger engines.
TheWhyte notation system for classifyingsteam locomotives is not adequate for describing the variety of electric locomotive arrangements, though thePennsylvania Railroad appliedclasses to its electric locomotives as if they were steam. For example, thePRR GG1 class indicates that it is arranged like two4-6-0 class G locomotives coupled back-to-back.
UIC classification system was typically used for electric locomotives, as it could handle the complex arrangements of powered and unpowered axles and could distinguish between coupled and uncoupled drive systems.
A battery–electric locomotive (or battery locomotive) is powered by onboard batteries; a kind ofbattery electric vehicle.
Such locomotives are used where a diesel or conventional electric locomotive would be unsuitable. An example is maintenance trains on underground lines when the electricity supply is turned off. Another use for battery locomotives is in industrial facilities (e.g. explosives factories, oil, and gasrefineries or chemical factories) where a combustion-powered locomotive (i.e.,steam- ordiesel-powered) could cause a safety issue due to the risks of fire, explosion or fumes in a confined space. Battery locomotives are preferred formine railways where gas could be ignited bytrolley-powered unitsarcing at the collection shoes, or where excessiveelectrical resistance could develop in the supply or return circuits, especially due to poor contact at rail joints, and allow dangerous current leakage into the ground.[33]
The first electric locomotive built in 1837 was a battery locomotive. It was built by chemistRobert Davidson ofAberdeen inScotland, and it was powered bygalvanic cells (batteries). Another early example was at theKennecott Copper Mine,McCarthy, Alaska, wherein 1917 the underground haulage ways were widened to enable working by two battery locomotives of4+1⁄2 short tons (4.0 long tons; 4.1 t).[34] In 1928, Kennecott Copper ordered four 700-series electric locomotives with onboard batteries. These locomotives weighed 85 short tons (76 long tons; 77 t) and operated on 750 voltsoverhead trolley wire with considerable further range whilst running on batteries.[35] The locomotives provided several decades of service usingnickel–iron battery (Edison) technology. The batteries were replaced withlead-acid batteries, and the locomotives were retired shortly afterward. All four locomotives were donated to museums, but one was scrapped. The others can be seen at theBoone and Scenic Valley Railroad, Iowa, and at theWestern Railway Museum in Rio Vista, California.
TheToronto Transit Commission previously operated on theToronto subway a battery electric locomotive built byNippon Sharyo in 1968 and retired in 2009.[36]
London Underground regularly operatesbattery–electric locomotives for general maintenance work.
As of 2022[update], battery locomotives with 7 and 14 MWh energy capacity have been ordered by rail lines and are under development.[37]
In 2020,Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Company, manufacturers of stored electrical power systems usingsupercapacitors initially developed for use intrams, announced that they were extending their product line to include locomotives.[38]
Electrification is widespread in Europe, withelectric multiple units commonly used for passenger trains. Due to higher density schedules, operating costs are more dominant with respect to the infrastructure costs than in the U.S. and electric locomotives have much lower operating costs than diesel. In addition, governments were motivated to electrify their railway networks due to coal shortages experienced during the First and Second World Wars.
Diesel locomotives have less power compared to electric locomotives for the same weight and dimensions. For instance, the 2,200 kW of a modernBritish Rail Class 66 diesel locomotive was matched in 1927 by the electricSBB-CFF-FFS Ae 4/7 (2,300 kW), which is lighter. However, for low speeds, the tractive effort is more important than power. Diesel engines can be competitive for slow freight traffic (as it is common in Canada and the U.S.) but not for passenger or mixed passenger/freight traffic as on many European railway lines, especially where heavy freight trains must be run at comparatively high speeds (80 km/h or more).
These factors led to high degrees of electrification in most European countries. In some countries, such as Switzerland, even electric shunters are common and many private sidings are served by electric locomotives. DuringWorld War II, when materials to build new electric locomotives were not available,Swiss Federal Railways installed electric heating elements in the boilers ofsome steam shunters, fed from the overhead supply, to deal with the shortage of imported coal.[39][40]
Recent political developments in many European countries to enhance public transit have led to another boost for electric traction. In addition, gaps in the unelectrified track are closed to avoid replacing electric locomotives by diesel for these sections. The necessary modernization and electrification of these lines are possible, due to the financing of the railway infrastructure by the state.
British electric multiple units werefirst introduced in the 1890s, and current versions provide public transit and there are also a number of electric locomotive classes, such as:Class 76,Class 86,Class 87,Class 90,Class 91 andClass 92.
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Russia andother countries of the formerSoviet Union have a mix of 3,000 V DC and 25 kV AC for historical reasons.
The special "junction stations" (around 15 over the former USSR –Vladimir, Mariinsk near Krasnoyarsk, etc.) have wiring switchable from DC to AC. Locomotive replacement is essential at these stations and is performed together with the contact wiring switching.
Most Soviet, Czech (the USSR ordered passenger electric locomotives fromŠkoda), Russian and Ukrainian locomotives can operate on AC or DC only. For instance,VL80 is an AC machine, with VL10 a DC version. There were some half-experimental small series such as VL82, which could switch from AC to DC and were used in small amounts around the city ofKharkiv inUkraine, where is no junction station at many lines. Also, the latest Russian passenger locomotiveEP20 and its half-experimental predecessorEP10 are a dual system.
Historically, 3,000 V DC was used for simplicity. The first experimental track was in the Georgian mountains, then the suburban zones of the largest cities were electrified for EMUs – very advantageous due to the much better dynamic of such a train compared to the steam one, which is important for suburban service with frequent stops. Then the large mountain line betweenUfa andChelyabinsk was electrified.
For some time, electric railways were only considered to be suitable for suburban or mountain lines. In around 1950, a decision was made (according to legend, byJoseph Stalin) to electrify the highly loaded plain prairie line ofOmsk-Novosibirsk. After this, electrifying the major railroads at 3,000 V DC became mainstream.
25 kV AC started in the USSR in around 1960 when the industry managed to build the rectifier-based AC-wire DC-motor locomotive (all Soviet and Czech AC locomotives were such; only the post-Soviet ones switched to electronically controlled induction motors). The first major line with AC power was Mariinsk-Krasnoyarsk-Tayshet-Zima; the lines in European Russia such as Moscow-Rostov-on-Don followed.
In the 1990s, some DC lines were rebuilt as AC to allow the usage of the huge 10 MW AC locomotive of VL85. The line aroundIrkutsk is one of them. The DC locomotives freed by this rebuild were transferred to the St Petersburg region.
TheTrans-Siberian Railway has been partly electrified since 1929, entirely since 2002. The system is 25 kV AC 50 Hz after the junction station of Mariinsk near Krasnoyarsk, 3,000 V DC before it, and train weights are up to 6,000 tonnes.[41]
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Historically,Canada has used a variety of electric locomotives, primarily for moving passengers and cargo through poorly ventilated tunnels. Electric locomotives that were in use in Canada include theSt. Clair Tunnel Co. Boxcab Electric,CN Boxcab Electric, andGMD GF6C.Exo inMontreal operatedALP-45DP dual-modeelectro-diesel locomotives in order to allow the locomotives to traverse the poorly ventilatedMount Royal Tunnel. The locomotives run in electric mode along the entire length of theDeux-Montagnes line and along theMascouche line betweenMontreal Central Station andAhuntsic station. The locomotives run in diesel mode for the remainder of theMascouche line and along three other non-electrified lines.[42] However, with the conversion of theMount Royal Tunnel into the mainline of theRéseau express métropolitainlight metro system and the permanent truncation of theMascouche line toAhuntsic station starting in January 2020, the locomotives are run exclusively in diesel mode.[43]
Similar to the US the flexibility of diesel locomotives and the relatively low cost of their infrastructure has led them to prevail except where legal or operational constraints dictate the use of electricity. Leading to limited electric railway infrastructure and by extension electric locomotives operating in Canada today. As of 2021, only one example exists today,GMD SW1200MG electric locomotives operated by theIron Ore Company of Canada for a small isolated railway hauling raw ore from their Carol Lake mine to a processing plant.
In the futureToronto'sGO Transit plans to operate a fleet of new electric locomotives as a part of itsRegional Express Rail initiative. The feasibility of using hydrogen fuel-cell locomotives is also being studied.[44]
Electric locomotives are used for passenger trains onAmtrak'sNortheast Corridor betweenWashington, DC, andBoston, with a branch toHarrisburg, Pennsylvania, and on somecommuter rail lines. Mass transit systems and other electrified commuter lines useelectric multiple units, where each car is powered. All other long-distance passenger service and, withrare exceptions, all freight is hauled by diesel–electric locomotives.
In North America, the flexibility of diesel locomotives and the relatively low cost of their infrastructure have led them to prevail except where legal or operational constraints dictate the use of electricity. An example of the latter is the use of electric locomotives by Amtrak andcommuter railroads in theNortheast Corridor. Amtrak andNew Jersey Transit'sNortheast Corridor services use electric locomotives, due to the prohibition on diesel operation inPenn Station and theHudson andEast River Tunnels leading to it. Some other trains to Penn Station usedual-mode locomotives that can also operate off third-rail power in the tunnels and the station.
During the steam era, some mountainous areas were electrified but these have been discontinued. The junction between electrified and non-electrified territory is the locale of engine changes; thus Northeast Corridor trains that extend south of Washington, D.C., change locomotives there. Northeast Corridor trains used to make lengthy stops inNew Haven, Connecticut, as locomotives were swapped, a delay which contributed to the decision to electrify the New Haven to Boston segment of the Northeast Corridor in 2000.[45]
China has over 100,000 kilometres (62,000 mi) of electrified railway.[46] With most trunk line freight and long-distance passenger trains operated using high power electric locomotives, typically in excess of 7,200 kilowatts (9,700 hp) of power output. Heavy freight is hauled with extremely high power multi-section locomotives, reaching up to 28,800 kilowatts (38,600 hp) on the "Shen 24" series of six section electric locomotives.[47]
All mainline electrified routes in India use25 kV AC overhead electrification at 50 Hz. As of March 2017,Indian Railways haul 85% of freight and passenger traffic with electric locomotives and 45,881 km of railway lines have been electrified.[48]
Japan has come close to complete electrification largely due to the relatively short distances and mountainous terrain, which make electric service a particularly economical investment. Additionally, the mix of freight to passenger service is weighted much more toward passenger service (even in rural areas) than in many other countries, and this has helped drive government investment into the electrification of many remote lines. However, these same factors lead operators of Japanese railways to preferEMUs over electric locomotives. The vast majority of electric passenger service in Japan is operated with EMUs, relegating electric locomotives to freight and select long-distance services.
TheVictorian Railways andNew South Wales Government Railways, which pioneered electric traction in Australia in the early 20th century and continue to operate 1,500 V DCelectric multiple units, have withdrawn their electric locomotives.
In both states, the use of electric locomotives on principal interurban routes proved to be a qualified success. In Victoria, because only theGippsland line was electrified, the economic advantages of electric traction were not fully realized due to the need to change locomotives for trains that ran beyond the electrified network. TheVictorian Railways L class were withdrawn from service by 1987,[49] and the Gippsland line electrification had been dismantled by 2004.[50]
TheNew South Wales 86 class locomotives introduced to NSW in 1983 had a relatively short life because the cost of maintaining the infrastructure, the need to change locomotives at the extremities of the electrified network, and higher charges levied for electricity, saw diesel locomotives take over services the electrified network.[51]
Queensland Rail implemented electrification in the 1980s and utilises the more recent25 kV AC technology with around 1,000 km of thenarrow gauge network now electrified. It operates a fleet of electric locomotives to transportcoal for export, the most recent of which the 3,000 kW (4,020 HP)3300/3400 class.[52]
Evian-les-Bains kando.
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