Electro-diesel Locomotive
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An electro-diesel locomotive (also referred to as a dual-mode or bi-mode locomotive) is a type of
locomotive A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the Power (physics), motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, Motor coach (rail), motor ...
that can be powered either from an electricity supply (like an
electric locomotive An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or on-board energy storage such as a battery or a supercapacitor. Locomotives with on-board fuelled prime movers, such as diesel engines or gas ...
) or by using the onboard
diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-call ...
(like a
diesel-electric locomotive A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover (locomotive), prime mover is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conv ...
). For the most part, these locomotives are built to serve regional, niche markets with a very specific purpose.


Overview

Electro-diesel locomotives are used to provide continuous journeys along routes that are only partly electrified without a change of locomotive, avoid extensive running of ''diesel
under the wires Under may refer to: * "Under" (Alex Hepburn song), 2013 * "Under" (Pleasure P song), 2009 *Bülent Ünder (born 1949), Turkish footballer *Cengiz Ünder (born 1997), Turkish footballer *Marie Under Marie Under ( – 25 September 1980) was one o ...
'' (using a diesel locomotive where electrified lines are available), and giving solution where diesel engines are banned. They may be designed or adapted mainly for electric use, mainly for diesel use or to work well as either electric or diesel. Note that, as well as the electric multiple unit (EMU) and diesel multiple unit (DMU), where no discrete locomotive is present, an electro-diesel (bi-mode) multiple unit train is called electro-diesel multiple unit (EDMU) or bi-mode multiple unit (BMU).


Primarily electric

This is effectively an
electric locomotive An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or on-board energy storage such as a battery or a supercapacitor. Locomotives with on-board fuelled prime movers, such as diesel engines or gas ...
with a relatively small auxiliary diesel
prime mover Prime mover may refer to: Philosophy *Unmoved mover, a concept in Aristotle's writings Engineering * Prime mover (engine), motor, a machine that converts various other forms of energy (chemical, electrical, fluid pressure/flow, etc) into energy ...
intended only for low-speed or short-distance operation (e.g.
British Rail Class 73 The British Rail Class 73 is a British electro-diesel locomotive. The type is unusual in that it can operate from the Southern Region's 650/750 V DC third-rail or an on-board diesel engine to allow it to operate on non-electrified routes. Thi ...
). Some of these, such as the
British Rail Class 74 The British Rail Class 74 was an electro-diesel locomotive that operated on the Southern Region of British Railways, rebuilt from redundant Class 71 locomotives in the late 1960s. An electro-diesel locomotive is one that can operate either from ...
, were converted from electric locomotives. The
Southern Region of British Railways The Southern Region was a region of British Railways from 1948 until 1992 when railways were re-privatised. The region ceased to be an operating unit in its own right in the 1980s. The region covered south London, southern England and the sout ...
used these locomotives to cross non-electrified gaps and to haul boat trains that used tramways at the ports of
Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
and Weymouth. For economy, the diesel engine and its generator are considerably smaller than the electric capacity. The Southern types were of or 'Type 3' rating as electrics, but only as diesels. Later classes had as much as on electric power, but still the same diesel engines. Despite this large difference, their comparable
tractive effort As used in mechanical engineering, the term tractive force can either refer to the total traction a vehicle exerts on a surface, or the amount of the total traction that is parallel to the direction of motion. In railway engineering, the term tr ...
s were much closer (around three-quarters as diesels) and so they could start and work equally heavy trains as diesels, but not to the same speeds.


Primarily diesel

This is effectively a
diesel locomotive A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving whee ...
with auxiliary electric motors (or connections to the existing traction motors), usually operating from 750 V DC
third rail A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway t ...
where non-electric traction is banned (e.g.
EMD FL9 The EMD FL9 (New Haven Class EDER-5) is a model of electro-diesel locomotive, capable of operating either as a traditional diesel-electric locomotive or as an electric locomotive powered from a third rail. Sixty units were built between October 1 ...
,
GE Genesis General Electric Genesis (officially trademarked GENESIS) is a series of passenger diesel locomotives produced by GE Transportation, then a subsidiary of General Electric. Between 1992 and 2001, a total of 321 units were built for Amtrak, Metro- ...
P32AC-DM General Electric Genesis (officially trademarked GENESIS) is a series of passenger diesel locomotives produced by GE Transportation, then a subsidiary of General Electric. Between 1992 and 2001, a total of 321 units were built for Amtrak, Metro- ...
,
EMD DM30AC The EMD DE30AC and DM30AC are a class of 46 locomotives built between 1997–1999 by Electro-Motive Division in the Super Steel Plant in Schenectady, New York, for the Long Island Rail Road of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) in ...
). The primary function for these models is to provide a "one-seat ride" (a rail trip that doesn't require a transfer to a different train) between the electrified and non-electrified sections of a rail system or to allow trains to run through tunnels or other segments of track where diesel locomotives are generally prohibited due to their production of exhaust; such locomotives are used for certain trains servicing the
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
terminals of
Grand Central Terminal Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal located at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Grand Central is the southern terminus ...
and
Penn Station Pennsylvania Station is a name applied by the Pennsylvania Railroad to several of its grand passenger terminals. Pennsylvania Station or Penn Station may also refer to Current train stations * Baltimore Penn Station * Pennsylvania Station (Cinc ...
, as the various rail tunnels into Manhattan have exhaust restrictions. Once out of the tunnels, the engines are started and operation is as a normal diesel locomotive.


Full dual-mode

With modern electronics, it is much easier to construct (or adapt) an electro-diesel locomotive or multiple-unit which is equally at home running at high speeds both "under the wires" and under diesel power (e.g. British Rail Class 88,
Bombardier ALP-45DP The Bombardier ALP-45DP is a type of single cab dual-mode locomotive built by Bombardier Transportation (later Alstom) and operated by New Jersey Transit and Exo. Operators New Jersey Transit New Jersey Transit (NJT) purchased 26 ALP-45DPs ...
). These will normally operate under pure electric traction where possible, and use the diesel engines to extend the journeys along non-electrified sections which would not be cost effective to electrify. They may also be used on long cross-country routes to take advantage of shorter sections of electrified main lines.


Europe


Germany

* Gmeinder class 478.6 diesel and
third-rail A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway ...
(bottom contact). * Voith Futura, a 2009 CREAM Project concept locomotive rebuilt from DB 240 002. * Bombardier
TRAXX Alstom Traxx (sold as Bombardier TRAXX before 2021) is a modular product platform of mainline diesel-electric and electric locomotives produced originally by Bombardier Transportation and later Alstom, which was built in both freight and passen ...
"Last Mile Diesel", mainly electric. Orders signed 2010, to be delivered probably 2012. *
Siemens Vectron The Vectron is a locomotive series made by Siemens Mobility, introduced at the 2010 InnoTrans trade fair in four prototype versions: diesel, multi-system, and both AC and DC electric power. The diesel version has been replaced in 2018 by a dua ...
Dual Mode


Poland

*
Pesa The Pesa is a river in Tuscany, central Italy. It has a length of 53 km, and, after crossing the provinces of Siena and Florence, flows into the Arno River near Montelupo Fiorentino Montelupo Fiorentino is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the ...
111Ed Gama ''Marathon'' – mainly electric, with auxiliary diesel engine enabling last-mile operation on non-electrified tracks. Gama ''Marathon'' was first presented in 2012 at InnoTrans Berlin. The locomotive then underwent a series of tests with rail operators
Lotos Kolej Lotos Kolej sp. z o.o. is a Polish rail company operating as a part of Grupa Lotos JSC. Lotos Kolej is responsible for transporting Lotos Group products and delivering petrol for Rafineria Gdańska. The company precedesor, ''Zakład Transportu K ...
(in goods traffic) and
PKP Intercity PKP Intercity is a company of PKP Group responsible for long-distance passenger transport. It runs about 350 trains daily, connecting mainly large agglomerations and smaller towns in Poland. The company also provides most international trains to ...
(in passenger traffic), after successful conclusion it was offered on the market. In July 2015 the Polish train-operating company Locomotiv bought the prototype and signed order for further two ''Marathons''. *
Newag Dragon The Newag Dragon is a Polish six-axle electric locomotive, designed for working freight trains up to 4500 tons. The locomotive is built by Newag, between 2009–2016 at its Gliwice plant, since 2017 at the Nowy Sącz plant. By April 2020, 42 units ...
– version of this electric freight locomotive for the Freightliner's Polish branch, Freightliner PL Sp. z o.o. (five units delivered in 2016) is equipped with auxiliary diesel engine. *
Newag Griffin Newag Griffin is a series of Polish four-axle electric and diesel locomotives for working passenger and goods trains, produced by Newag in Nowy Sącz from 2012. The first version, the E4MSU is a mixed-traffic multi-system electric locomotive. Hi ...
– a version of this electric freight locomotive, leased to
Lotos Kolej Lotos Kolej sp. z o.o. is a Polish rail company operating as a part of Grupa Lotos JSC. Lotos Kolej is responsible for transporting Lotos Group products and delivering petrol for Rafineria Gdańska. The company precedesor, ''Zakład Transportu K ...
in 2017 for 7 years with a provision to extend the lease, is equipped with auxiliary diesel engine.


Spain

*
FEVE Renfe Feve is a division of state-owned Spanish railway company Renfe Operadora. It operates most of Spain's of railway. This division of Renfe was previously a stand-alone company named FEVE (Ferrocarriles de Vía Estrecha,Law 11/1965 of 2 ...
1.900 Series, overhead wires. This series is a rebuild of FEVE 1.000 Series locomotive. * Euskotren TD2000 series, overhead wires. This is a new construction locomotive. Built by CFD-Bagnères and Ingeteam. * CAF Bitrac 3600, overhead wires. October 2007 order for nine freight Co-Co locomotives. Available in Bo-Bo and Co-Co wheel configuration, gauge, and as freight or passenger versions of maximum speeds respectively. * Power cars for RENFE Class 730, by
Talgo Talgo (officially Patentes Talgo, SAU) is a Spanish manufacturer of intercity, standard, and high-speed passenger trains. Corporate history TALGO, an abbreviation of Tren Articulado Ligero Goicoechea Oriol (English: ''Lightweight articulated tra ...
.


Switzerland

* Rhaetian Railway Gem 4/4 801 and 802, overhead wires (
Bernina Railway The Bernina Railway (german: Berninalinie; it, Linea del Bernina; rm, Lingia dal Bernina) is a single-track railway line forming part of the Rhaetian Railway (RhB). It links the spa resort of St. Moritz, in the canton of Graubünden, Switze ...
) *
Swiss Federal Railways Swiss Federal Railways (german: link=no, Schweizerische Bundesbahnen, ''SBB''; french: link=no, Chemins de fer fédéraux suisses, ''CFF''; it, Ferrovie federali svizzere, ''FFS'') is the national railway company of Switzerland. It is usuall ...
Tem I 251–275 (1950–57), Tem II 276–298 (1967) and Tem III 321–365 (1954–62) shunters (Tem III see image) of which only few are still in service. * Swiss Federal Railways Eem 923 shunters using both and overhead wires and a 360 kW auxiliary diesel engine are on delivery from
Stadler Rail Stadler Rail is a Swiss manufacturer of railway rolling stock, with an emphasis on regional train multiple units and trams. It is also focused on niche products, such as being one of the last European manufacturers of rack railway rolling stock ...
's Winterthur plant.


United Kingdom

An experimental electro-diesel locomotive, DEL120, was built by
London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent ceremonial counties of England, counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and He ...
in 1940 but was not a success. Two types have been built whose electricity source was a 750 V DC
third rail A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway t ...
. *
British Rail Class 73 The British Rail Class 73 is a British electro-diesel locomotive. The type is unusual in that it can operate from the Southern Region's 650/750 V DC third-rail or an on-board diesel engine to allow it to operate on non-electrified routes. Thi ...
, dating from 1962 – the more successful design, with some still in regular use. They originally had lower power output in the diesel mode, but are re-engined to provide more power. (2020, years since introduction) *
British Rail Class 74 The British Rail Class 74 was an electro-diesel locomotive that operated on the Southern Region of British Railways, rebuilt from redundant Class 71 locomotives in the late 1960s. An electro-diesel locomotive is one that can operate either from ...
– rebuilt from
British Rail Class 71 The British Rail Class 71 was an electric locomotive used on the Southern Region of British Railways. Unlike Southern Region electro-diesel locomotives (such as classes 73 and 74) they could not operate away from the electrified (750 V DC) s ...
electric locomotives in 1967 and withdrawn by 1977. Electro-diesel locomotives whose electricity source is
overhead line An overhead line or overhead wire is an electrical cable that is used to transmit electrical energy to electric locomotives, trolleybuses or trams. It is known variously as: * Overhead catenary * Overhead contact system (OCS) * Overhead equipmen ...
include: * British Rail Class 88 – locomotive used by
Direct Rail Services Direct Rail Services (DRS) is a rail freight company in Great Britain. As of 2022, it is one of seven publicly owned railway companies in the United Kingdom, the others being NI Railways (the passenger rail operator in Northern Ireland), LNE ...
. Introduced in 2017.


Russia

In Russia, a number of electro-diesels were built which had both
pantograph A pantograph (, from their original use for copying writing) is a mechanical linkage connected in a manner based on parallelograms so that the movement of one pen, in tracing an image, produces identical movements in a second pen. If a line dr ...
s and diesel prime movers. These included: * ED16 (ЭД16), ED18 (ЭД18), and TEU1 (ТЭУ1)
narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...
models * OPE1 (ОПЭ1), OPE2 (ОПЭ2), NP1 (НП1), PE2(M) (РЭ2(М)), and EL20 standard-gauge locomotives used mostly in
quarries A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their environ ...
::
''Warnings: the sections below are WORK IN PROGRESS, result of moving to "
Electro-diesel multiple unit An electro-diesel multiple unit (EDMU) or bi-mode multiple unit (BMU) is a form of a multiple unit that can be powered either by electric power picked up from the overhead lines or third rail (like an electric multiple unit – EMU) or by usi ...
" the informations about Electro-diesel Multiple Unit, here incorrectly reported; please give help on this transfer.''


North America


Canada

* Bombardier
ALP-45DP The Bombardier ALP-45DP is a type of single cab dual-mode locomotive built by Bombardier Transportation (later Alstom) and operated by New Jersey Transit and Exo. Operators New Jersey Transit New Jersey Transit (NJT) purchased 26 ALP-45DP ...
– 20 locomotives ordered for the
Mascouche line Mascouche (also designated exo5, known during planning as Repentigny–Mascouche) is a commuter railway line in Greater Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is operated by Exo, the organization that operates public transport services across this reg ...
(
Exo Exo ( ko, 엑소; stylized in all caps) is a South Korean-Chinese boy band based in Seoul formed by SM Entertainment in 2011 and debuted in 2012. The group consists of nine members: Xiumin, Suho, Lay, Baekhyun, Chen, Chanyeol, D.O., Kai ...
) in a joint order with
NJ Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit, and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey, along with portions of New York State and Pennsylvania. It operates bu ...
. They provide a through journey on this mostly unelectrified new line, which joins the existing electrified
Deux-Montagnes line Deux-Montagnes or Two Mountains Line (also designated exo6 and formerly Red Line) was formerly a commuter railway line in Greater Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was owned by Exo, the organization that operates public transport services across this ...
to access Montreal's
Central Station Central stations or central railway stations emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century as railway stations that had initially been built on the edge of city centres were enveloped by urban expansion and became an integral part of the ...
through the poorly ventilated, electric only
Mount Royal Tunnel The Mount Royal Tunnel (french: tunnel sous le mont Royal, tunnel du mont Royal) is a railway tunnel in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The tunnel is the third longest in Canada, after the Mount Macdonald Tunnel and the Connaught Tunnel, and connects ...
. With the conversion of the Deux-Montagnes line into the mainline of the
Réseau express métropolitain The Réseau express métropolitain (REM; en, Metropolitan Express Network) is a light metro rapid transit system under construction in Greater Montreal, Quebec, Canada. When completed in 2025, the system will link several Montreal suburbs and ...
light metro A medium-capacity system (MCS), also known as light rapid transit or light metro, is a rail transport system with a capacity greater than light rail, but less than typical heavy-rail rapid transit. MCS’s trains are usually 1-4 cars, or 1 ligh ...
system and the permanent truncation of the Mascouche line to Ahuntsic station starting in January 2020, the ALP-45DPs will be run exclusively in diesel mode.


United States

Several, primarily diesel locomotive types and a
multiple-unit A multiple-unit train or simply multiple unit (MU) is a self-propelled train composed of one or more carriages joined together, which when coupled to another multiple unit can be controlled by a single driver, with multiple-unit train contr ...
have been built to operate off a
third rail A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway t ...
into the
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
terminals of
Grand Central Terminal Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal located at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Grand Central is the southern terminus ...
and
Penn Station Pennsylvania Station is a name applied by the Pennsylvania Railroad to several of its grand passenger terminals. Pennsylvania Station or Penn Station may also refer to Current train stations * Baltimore Penn Station * Pennsylvania Station (Cinc ...
(with the third rail system being rarely used on open-air tracks). The following are in service: *
P32AC-DM General Electric Genesis (officially trademarked GENESIS) is a series of passenger diesel locomotives produced by GE Transportation, then a subsidiary of General Electric. Between 1992 and 2001, a total of 321 units were built for Amtrak, Metro- ...
– dual-mode version of
GE Genesis General Electric Genesis (officially trademarked GENESIS) is a series of passenger diesel locomotives produced by GE Transportation, then a subsidiary of General Electric. Between 1992 and 2001, a total of 321 units were built for Amtrak, Metro- ...
, primarily diesel, electric mode is only used for service to Grand Central Terminal from
Poughkeepsie Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsi ...
or Wassaic, or Penn Station from Albany,
Rutland Rutland () is a ceremonial county and unitary authority in the East Midlands, England. The county is bounded to the west and north by Leicestershire, to the northeast by Lincolnshire and the southeast by Northamptonshire. Its greatest len ...
, or
Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Falls, ...
. They are also used on the Albany-New York section of trains between Penn Station and
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
,
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
, and
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
. Those trains stop in Albany to switch to full diesel GE Geneses for the remainder of the journey. *
EMD DM30AC The EMD DE30AC and DM30AC are a class of 46 locomotives built between 1997–1999 by Electro-Motive Division in the Super Steel Plant in Schenectady, New York, for the Long Island Rail Road of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) in ...
– specific to
Long Island Rail Road The Long Island Rail Road , often abbreviated as the LIRR, is a commuter rail system in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk Co ...
, primary diesel, electric mode is only used for service to Penn Station. * Bombardier
ALP-45DP The Bombardier ALP-45DP is a type of single cab dual-mode locomotive built by Bombardier Transportation (later Alstom) and operated by New Jersey Transit and Exo. Operators New Jersey Transit New Jersey Transit (NJT) purchased 26 ALP-45DP ...
– 35 locomotives purchased by
NJ Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit, and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey, along with portions of New York State and Pennsylvania. It operates bu ...
(with 17 more on order), to bridge gaps between non-electrified and electrified sections of track into New York Penn Station. These trains have been used to provide a "one-seat ride" to New York Penn Station both for commuters using non-electrified portions of the system. The following were retired from New York City service: *
Baldwin RP-210 The RP-210 was a streamlined locomotive built in 1956 by Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton, specifically to operate with the experimental, all-aluminum '' Train-X'' coaches that the Pullman-Standard Car Manufacturing Company built. The model represented ...
– primarily
diesel-hydraulic A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving wheels ...
, third-rail electric mode for short-term use only. All scrapped. * "
Roger Williams Roger Williams (21 September 1603between 27 January and 15 March 1683) was an English-born New England Puritan minister, theologian, and author who founded Providence Plantations, which became the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantation ...
" - streamlined 6-car lightweight DMU passenger train, built by
Budd Company The Budd Company was a 20th-century metal fabricator, a major supplier of body components to the automobile industry, and a manufacturer of stainless steel passenger rail cars, airframes, missile and space vehicles, and various defense products ...
in 1956 for
New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , commonly known as The Consolidated, or simply as the New Haven, was a railroad that operated in the New England region of the United States from 1872 to December 31, 1968. Founded by the merger of ...
; primarily diesel-hydraulic, third-rail electric mode for short-term use only. Three cars preserved. * Fairbanks Morse P-12-42 – primarily diesel-electric, third-rail electric mode for short-term use only. All scrapped. *
EMD FL9 The EMD FL9 (New Haven Class EDER-5) is a model of electro-diesel locomotive, capable of operating either as a traditional diesel-electric locomotive or as an electric locomotive powered from a third rail. Sixty units were built between October 1 ...
– primarily diesel-electric, third-rail electric mode for short-term use only. Several examples preserved and/or in service on heritage railroads. * GE three-power boxcab - tri-mode
switcher A switcher, shunter, yard pilot, switch engine, yard goat, or shifter is a small railroad locomotive used for manoeuvring railroad cars inside a rail yard in a process known as ''switching'' (US) or ''shunting'' (UK). Switchers are not inten ...
locomotive model built in 1930, was also capable of operating as a battery locomotive. All retired and scrapped. * GE/Garrett gas turbine MUs - primarily electric, but built with
gas turbines A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas generator or core) and are, in the directi ...
to allow operation outside of third rail electrification. All scrapped.


Africa


South Africa

* The
South African Class 38-000 The Spoornet Class of 1992 is a South African electro-diesel locomotive. Between 1992 and 1994, Spoornet placed fifty Class dual mode locomotives in service. They are still the only dual powered electro-diesel locomotives in use by Transnet ...
is a electro-diesel locomotive designed by Consortium under the leadership of
Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad. The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', '' ...
and built by Union Carriage and Wagon (UCW) in Nigel,
Gauteng Gauteng ( ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name in Sotho-Tswana languages means 'place of gold'. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts for only ...
,
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
. Between November 1992 and 1993 fifty of these locomotives were placed in service by Spoornet, formerly the South African Railways (SAR) and later renamed
Transnet Freight Rail Transnet Freight Rail is a South African rail transport company, formerly known as Spoornet. It was part of the South African Railways and Harbours Administration, a state-controlled organisation that employed hundreds of thousands of people ...
(TFR). The diesel engine enables the locomotive to shunt on unelectrified sidings.


Tanzania

* Stadler Euro Dual, proposed overhead wires (
Tanzania Standard Gauge Railway The Tanzania Standard Gauge Railway is a railway system, under construction, linking the country to the neighbouring countries of Rwanda and Uganda, and through these two, to Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as part of East Afr ...
)


Asia


India

The
Indian Railways Indian Railways (IR) is a statutory body under the ownership of Ministry of Railways, Government of India that operates India's national railway system. It manages the fourth largest national railway system in the world by size, with a tot ...
WDAP-5 is a class of Electro-diesel locomotive that was developed in 2019 by
Banaras Locomotive Works The Banaras Locomotive Works (BLW) (formerly Diesel Locomotive Works (DLW)) in Varanasi, India, is a production unit of Indian Railways. DLW stopped manufacturing diesel locomotives in March 2019 and was renamed BLW in Oct 2020. History Founde ...
(BLW), Varanasi for
Indian Railways Indian Railways (IR) is a statutory body under the ownership of Ministry of Railways, Government of India that operates India's national railway system. It manages the fourth largest national railway system in the world by size, with a tot ...
. The model name stands for broad gauge (W), Diesel (D), AC Current (A), Passenger (P) and 5000 Horsepower(5). The locomotive can deliver 5000HP in electric mode and 4500HP in diesel mode. Since 2016,
Indian Railways Indian Railways (IR) is a statutory body under the ownership of Ministry of Railways, Government of India that operates India's national railway system. It manages the fourth largest national railway system in the world by size, with a tot ...
has pushed for greater electrification of the railway network. In this interest, the government approved plans for 100% electrification in 2019. So far Indian Railways has electrified 39,866 RKMs which accounts for about 63% of the total route kilometres. Using electric locomotives allows the railways to save time by giving a faster acceleration and also saves fuel costs. However, these advantages are offset under certain circumstances where the route of the train is partly electrified. In such cases, trains used to run with a diesel locomotive in non-electrified sections and would be switched with an electric locomotive as soon as they enter an electrified section. Instead of the benefits of electrification, Railways observed a loss of punctuality in such trains due to valuable time being lost to switch between diesel and electric locomotives. To counter this, in August 2019, Railways issued a circular, asking all zones to haul trains with a diesel locomotive if their route was not completely electrified. This meant that electrification of railway lines, unless completed end-to-end, did not provide any advantage. This problem had been identified by the Railways, way back in 2016, which is when
RDSO The Research Designs & Standards Organisation (RDSO) is an ISO 9001 research and development organisation under the Ministry of Railways of government of India, which functions as a technical adviser and consultant to the Railway Board, the Zonal ...
was requested to study the feasibility of dual-mode locomotives as a stop-gap until 100% electrification was achieved.


Hybrid locomotive

A specialized type of electro-diesel locomotive is the hybrid locomotive. Here, the electricity comes from a battery charged by the diesel engine rather than from an external supply. An example is the
Green Goat Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combin ...
switcher A switcher, shunter, yard pilot, switch engine, yard goat, or shifter is a small railroad locomotive used for manoeuvring railroad cars inside a rail yard in a process known as ''switching'' (US) or ''shunting'' (UK). Switchers are not inten ...
GG20B by
Railpower Technologies Railpower Technologies is a subsidiary of R.J. Corman Railroad Group that builds environmentally friendly hybrid Green Goat and Genset switching locomotives, founded by Frank Donnelly and Gerard Koldyk. Its locomotives have been purchased by ...
, a subsidiary of
R.J. Corman Railroad Group R. J. Corman Railroad Group, LLC is a privately owned railroad services and short line operating company headquartered in Nicholasville, KY, with field locations in 22 states. It was owned by Richard J. Corman, who established the company in ...
since 2009.


See also

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Biodiesel Biodiesel is a form of diesel fuel derived from plants or animals and consisting of long-chain fatty acid esters. It is typically made by chemically reacting lipids such as animal fat (tallow), soybean oil, or some other vegetable oil with ...
*
Dual-mode bus A dual-mode bus is a bus that can run independently on power from two different sources, typically electricity from overhead lines like a trolleybus or from batteries like a hybrid bus, alternated with conventional fossil fuel (generally diesel ...
- the bus equivalent * GE "Three-Power" boxcab *
Hitachi Super Express The Intercity Express Programme (IEP) is an initiative of the Department for Transport (DfT) in the United Kingdom to procure new trains to replace the InterCity 125 and InterCity 225 fleets on the East Coast Main Line and Great Western Main ...
, a future train for the United Kingdom *
Electro-diesel multiple unit An electro-diesel multiple unit (EDMU) or bi-mode multiple unit (BMU) is a form of a multiple unit that can be powered either by electric power picked up from the overhead lines or third rail (like an electric multiple unit – EMU) or by usi ...


References


External links

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Novocherkasskiy electric locomotive factory – Model OPE1CAF website
{{NA Electro-diesel