HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

An electric locomotive is a
locomotive A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the 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, railcar or power car; the ...
powered by
electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as describe ...
from
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 equipm ...
s, 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 ...
or on-board
energy storage Energy storage is the capture of energy produced at one time for use at a later time to reduce imbalances between energy demand and energy production. A device that stores energy is generally called an accumulator or battery. Energy comes in ...
such as a
battery Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...
or a supercapacitor. Locomotives with on-board fuelled prime movers, such as
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-cal ...
s or gas turbines, are classed as diesel-electric or gas turbine-electric and not as electric locomotives, because the electric generator/motor combination serves only as a power 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 from regenerative braking, which allows
kinetic energy In physics, the kinetic energy of an object is the energy that it possesses due to its motion. It is defined as the work needed to accelerate a body of a given mass from rest to its stated velocity. Having gained this energy during its acce ...
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 for
commuter rail Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are con ...
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 burn fossil fuels, are far cleaner than mobile sources such as locomotive engines. The power can also come from low-carbon or
renewable sources A renewable resource, also known as a flow resource, is a natural resource which will replenish to replace the portion depleted by usage and consumption, either through natural reproduction or other recurring processes in a finite amount of ti ...
, including
geothermal power Geothermal power is electrical power generated from geothermal energy. Technologies in use include dry steam power stations, flash steam power stations and binary cycle power stations. Geothermal electricity generation is currently used in 2 ...
, hydroelectric power,
biomass Biomass is plant-based material used as a fuel for heat or electricity production. It can be in the form of wood, wood residues, energy crops, agricultural residues, and waste from industry, farms, and households. Some people use the terms bio ...
,
solar power Solar power is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Photovoltaic cells convert light into an electric current using the photovolta ...
,
nuclear power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced b ...
and
wind turbine A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each year. ...
s. Electric locomotives usually cost 20% less than diesel locomotives, their maintenance costs are 25-35% lower, and cost up to 50% less to run. The chief disadvantage of electrification is the high cost for infrastructure: overhead lines or third rail, substations, and control systems. Public policy in the U.S. interferes with electrification: higher property taxes are imposed on privately owned rail facilities if they are electrified. 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. 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. 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.


History


Direct current

The first known electric locomotive was built in 1837 by chemist Robert Davidson of
Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), a ...
, and it was powered by galvanic cells (batteries). Davidson later built a larger locomotive named ''Galvani'', exhibited at the Royal Scottish Society of Arts Exhibition in 1841. The seven-ton vehicle had two direct-drive
reluctance motor A reluctance motor is a type of electric motor that induces non-permanent magnetic poles on the ferromagnetic rotor. The rotor does not have any windings. It generates torque through magnetic reluctance. Reluctance motor subtypes include synchro ...
s, with fixed electromagnets acting on iron bars attached to a wooden cylinder on each axle, and simple
commutators In mathematics, the commutator gives an indication of the extent to which a certain binary operation fails to be commutative. There are different definitions used in group theory and ring theory. Group theory The commutator of two elements, ...
. It hauled a load of six tons at four miles per hour (6 kilometers per hour) for a distance of . It was tested on the Edinburgh 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.Renzo Pocaterra, ''Treni'', De Agostini, 2003 The first electric passenger train was presented by Werner von Siemens at
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...
in 1879. 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 (984 feet) 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 (see Gross-Lichterfelde Tramway and Berlin Straßenbahn). Volk's Electric Railway opened in 1883 in Brighton. Also in 1883,
Mödling and Hinterbrühl Tram Mödling and Hinterbrühl Tram or ''Mödling and Hinterbrühl Local Railway'' ( German: ''Lokalbahn Mödling–Hinterbrühl'') was an electric tramway in Austria, running 4.5 km (2.8 mi) from Mödling to Hinterbrühl, in the southwe ...
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. electric trolleys were pioneered in 1888 on the Richmond Union Passenger Railway, using equipment designed by Frank J. Sprague. The first electrified Hungarian railway lines were opened in 1887. Budapest (See: BHÉV): Ráckeve line (1887),
Szentendre Szentendre () is a riverside town in Pest County, Hungary, between the capital city Budapest and Pilis- Visegrád Mountains. The town is known for its museums (most notably the Open-Air Ethnographic Museum), galleries, and artists. Due to its ...
line (1888), Gödöllő line (1888), Csepel line (1912). 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 worked underground line was the City and South London Railway, prompted by a clause in its enabling act prohibiting the use of steam power. It opened in 1890, using electric locomotives built by Mather and Platt. Electricity quickly became the power supply of choice for subways, abetted by Sprague's invention of multiple-unit train control in 1897. Surface and elevated
rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be ...
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 the Baltimore Belt Line of the
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States, with its first section opening in 1830. Merchants from Baltimore, which had benefited to some extent from the construction of ...
(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 the
Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...
had shown that coal smoke from
steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the loco ...
s would be a major operating issue and a public nuisance. Three Bo+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. Railroad entrances to
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 ...
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 the Harlem River after 1 July 1908. In response, electric locomotives began operation in 1904 on the
New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Mi ...
. In the 1930s, the
Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...
, which had introduced electric locomotives because of the NYC regulation, electrified its entire territory east of
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in ...
. The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul, and Pacific Railroad (the
Milwaukee Road The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (CMStP&P), often referred to as the "Milwaukee Road" , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwest and Northwest of the United States from 1847 until 1986. The company experienced ...
), the last transcontinental line to be built, electrified its lines across the
Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico ...
and to the Pacific Ocean starting in 1915. A few East Coastlines, notably the
Virginian Railway The Virginian Railway was a Class I railroad located in Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The VGN was created to transport high quality "smokeless" bituminous coal from southern West Virginia to port at Hampton Roads. Histor ...
and the
Norfolk and Western Railway The Norfolk and Western Railway , commonly called the N&W, was a US class I railroad, formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It was headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia, for most of its existence. Its motto was "Precis ...
, 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. 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. the Deseret Power Railroad), by 2000 electrification was confined to the
Northeast Corridor The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston through Providence, New Haven, Stamford, New York City, Philadelphia, Wilmington, ...
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.


Alternating current

The first practical AC electric locomotive was designed by Charles Brown, then working for Oerlikon, Zürich. In 1891, Brown had demonstrated long-distance power transmission, using three-phase AC, between a
hydro-electric plant Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...
at Lauffen am Neckar and
Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...
West, a distance of 280 km. Using experience he had gained while working for Jean Heilmann on steam-electric locomotive designs, Brown observed that three-phase motors had a higher power-to-weight ratio than DC motors and, because of the absence of a
commutator In mathematics, the commutator gives an indication of the extent to which a certain binary operation fails to be commutative. There are different definitions used in group theory and ring theory. Group theory The commutator of two elements, ...
, were simpler to manufacture and maintain. However, they were much larger than the DC motors of the time and could not be mounted in underfloor
bogie A bogie ( ) (in some senses called a truck in North American English) is a chassis or framework that carries a wheelset, attached to a vehicle—a modular subassembly of wheels and axles. Bogies take various forms in various modes of transp ...
s: they could only be carried within locomotive bodies. In 1896 Oerlikon installed the first commercial example of the system on the Lugano Tramway. Each 30-tonne locomotive had two motors run by three-phase 750 V 40 Hz fed from double overhead lines. Three-phase motors run at a constant speed and provide regenerative braking and are thus well suited to steeply graded routes; in 1899 Brown (by then in partnership with
Walter Boveri Walter Boveri (born 21 February 1865 in Bamberg, Bavaria, died 28 October 1924 in Baden, Switzerland) was a Swiss-German industrialist and co-founder of the global electrical engineering group Brown, Boveri & Cie. (BBC). Biography Boveri's anc ...
) supplied the first main-line three-phase locomotives to the 40 km Burgdorf–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 of
Hans Behn-Eschenburg Hans Behn-Eschenburg (10 January 1864 – 18 May 1938) was born in Obertrass (now Zurich), Switzerland. His work on the AC single-phase motor was important to the electrification of railways. He studied mathematics and physics in Zurich and B ...
and Emil Huber-Stockar; installation on the Seebach-Wettingen line of the Swiss Federal Railways was completed in 1904. The 15 kV, 50 Hz , 48 tonne locomotives used transformers and rotary converters to power DC traction motors. In 1894, Hungarian engineer Kálmán Kandó developed a new type 3-phase asynchronous electric drive motors and generators for electric locomotives. Kandó's early 1894 designs were first applied in a short three-phase AC tramway in
Évian-les-Bains Évian-les-Bains (), or simply Évian ( frp, Èvian, , or ), is a commune in the northern part of the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Southeastern France. In 2018, it had a population of 9,100. A high-market holida ...
(France), which was constructed between 1896 and 1898. In 1918, Kandó invented and developed the rotary 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. 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 the Ganz works. 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. 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. 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 V  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. A later development of Kandó, working with both the
Ganz The Ganz Works or Ganz ( or , ''Ganz companies'', formerly ''Ganz and Partner Iron Mill and Machine Factory'') was a group of companies operating between 1845 and 1949 in Budapest, Hungary. It was named after Ábrahám Ganz, the founder and t ...
works and Societa Italiana Westinghouse, was an electro-mechanical converter, allowing the use of three-phase motors from single-phase AC, eliminating the need for two overhead wires. 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 and Komárom. This proved successful and the electrification was extended to Hegyeshalom in 1934. 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 from
SNCF The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (; abbreviated as SNCF ; French for "National society of French railroads") is France's national state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the country's national rail traffic ...
of France after
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. The company had assessed the industrial-frequency AC line routed through the steep Höllental 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. The SNCF decision, ignoring as it did the of high-voltage DC already installed on French routes, was influential in the standard selected for other countries in Europe. The 1960s saw the electrification of many European main lines. European electric locomotive technology had improved steadily from the 1920s onwards. By comparison, the
Milwaukee Road class EP-2 The Milwaukee Road's class EP-2 comprised five electric locomotives built by General Electric in 1919. They were often known as Bipolars, which referred to the bipolar electric motors they used. Among the most distinctive and powerful electric ...
(1918) weighed 240 t, with a power of 3,330 kW and a maximum speed of 112 km/h; in 1935, German E 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 locomotive CC 7107 reached 331 km/h. In 1960 the SJ 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 Japanese Shinkansen and the French
TGV The TGV (french: Train à Grande Vitesse, "high-speed train"; previously french: TurboTrain à Grande Vitesse, label=none) is France's intercity high-speed rail service, operated by SNCF. SNCF worked on a high-speed rail network from 1966 to 19 ...
were the first systems for which devoted high-speed lines were built from scratch. Similar programs were undertaken in
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
,
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
and
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...
; in the United States the only new mainline service was an extension of electrification over the Northeast Corridor from
New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134 ...
, to Boston, Massachusetts, though new electric light rail systems continued to be built. On 2 September 2006, a standard production Siemens electric locomotive of the Eurosprinter type ES64-U4 (
ÖBB The Austrian Federal Railways (german: Österreichische Bundesbahnen, formally (lit. "Austrian Federal Railways Holding Stock Company") and formerly the or ''BBÖ''), now commonly known as ÖBB, is the national railway company ...
Class 1216) achieved , the record for a locomotive-hauled train, on the new line between Ingolstadt and Nuremberg. This locomotive is now employed largely unmodified by ÖBB to haul their Railjet which is however limited to a top speed of 230 km/h due to economic and infrastructure concerns.


Types

An electric locomotive can be supplied with power from *
Rechargeable energy storage system A rechargeable battery, storage battery, or secondary cell (formally a type of energy accumulator), is a type of electrical battery which can be charged, discharged into a load, and recharged many times, as opposed to a disposable or prima ...
s, such as a battery or ultracapacitor-powered
mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the econom ...
locomotives. * A stationary source, such as 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 ...
or
overhead wire 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 equipm ...
. The distinguishing design features of electric locomotives are: *The type of electrical power used, AC or DC. *The method of storing (batteries, ultracapacitors) or collecting (transmission) electrical power. *The means used to couple the traction motors to the driving wheels (drivers).


Direct and alternating current

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. 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 resulting three-phase current drives
induction motor An induction motor or asynchronous motor is an AC electric motor in which the electric current in the rotor needed to produce torque is obtained by electromagnetic induction from the magnetic field of the stator winding. An induction motor ...
s, which do not have sensitive
commutators In mathematics, the commutator gives an indication of the extent to which a certain binary operation fails to be commutative. There are different definitions used in group theory and ring theory. Group theory The commutator of two elements, ...
and permit easy realisation of a regenerative 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 Swiss
rack railway A rack railway (also rack-and-pinion railway, cog railway, or cogwheel railway) is a steep grade railway with a toothed rack rail, usually between the running rails. The trains are fitted with one or more cog wheels or pinions that mesh with t ...
s. 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 A rectifier is an electrical device that converts alternating current (AC), which periodically reverses direction, to direct current (DC), which flows in only one direction. The reverse operation (converting DC to AC) is performed by an inve ...
locomotives, which used AC power transmission and DC motors, were common, though DC commutators had problems both in starting and at low velocities. Today's advanced electric locomotives use brushless three-phase AC induction motors. These polyphase machines are powered from
GTO GTO may refer to: Entertainment * ''Great Teacher Onizuka'', a manga, anime, live-action series, and film * GameTable Online, a game portal Music bands * GTO (band), an Australian band * The GTOs, an American girl group * Giraffe Tongue Orche ...
-, IGCT- or
IGBT An insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) is a three-terminal power semiconductor device primarily used as an electronic switch, which, as it was developed, came to combine high efficiency and fast switching. It consists of four alternating lay ...
-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. American FL9 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., in
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 coun ...
and the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
(750 V and 1,500 V);
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
,
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...
,
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...
(1,500 V);
Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...
,
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...
,
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
,
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
,
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...
,
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...
(3,000 V) and Washington, D.C. (750 V).


Power transmission

Electrical circuits require two connections (or for three phase AC, three connections). From the beginning, the track was used for one side of the circuit. Unlike model railroads the track normally supplies only one side, the other of the circuit being provided separately.


Overhead lines

Railways generally tend to prefer
overhead lines 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 equipment ...
, often called "
catenaries In physics and geometry, a catenary (, ) is the curve that an idealized hanging chain or cable assumes under its own weight when supported only at its ends in a uniform gravitational field. The catenary curve has a U-like shape, superfi ...
" after the support system used to hold the wire parallel to the ground. Three collection methods are possible: *
Trolley pole A trolley pole is a tapered cylindrical pole of wood or metal, used to transfer electricity from a "live" (electrified) overhead wire to the control and the electric traction motors of a tram or trolley bus. It is a type of current collector. ...
: a long flexible pole, which engages the line with a wheel or shoe. * Bow collector: a frame that holds a long collecting rod against the wire. * Pantograph: a hinged frame that holds the collecting shoes against the wire in a fixed geometry. 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


Third rail

The original
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States, with its first section opening in 1830. Merchants from Baltimore, which had benefited to some extent from the construction of ...
electrification used a sliding shoe in an overhead channel, a system quickly found to be unsatisfactory. It was replaced by 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 ...
, in which a pickup (the "shoe") rode underneath or on top of a smaller rail parallel to the main track, above ground level. There were 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 in
subway Subway, Subways, The Subway, or The Subways may refer to: Transportation * Subway, a term for underground rapid transit rail systems * Subway (underpass), a type of walkway that passes underneath an obstacle * Subway (George Bush Intercontin ...
s because of the close clearances it affords.


Driving the wheels

During the initial development of railroad electrical propulsion, a number of drive systems were devised to couple the output of the
traction motor A traction motor is an electric motor used for propulsion of a vehicle, such as locomotives, electric or hydrogen vehicles, elevators or electric multiple unit. Traction motors are used in electrically powered rail vehicles ( electric multip ...
s to the wheels. Early locomotives often used jackshaft 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. The Buchli 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 French
SNCF The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (; abbreviated as SNCF ; French for "National society of French railroads") is France's national state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the country's national rail traffic ...
and
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 ...
. The
quill drive A quill is a writing tool made from a moulted flight feather (preferably a primary wing-feather) of a large bird. Quills were used for writing with ink before the invention of the dip pen, the metal- nibbed pen, the fountain pen, and, eventuall ...
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. The
Pennsylvania Railroad GG1 The Pennsylvania Railroad GG1 is a class of streamlined electric locomotives built for the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), in the northeastern United States. The class was known for its striking art deco shell, its ability to pull trains at up to 100 ...
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. The EP-2 bi-polar electrics used by the
Milwaukee Road The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (CMStP&P), often referred to as the "Milwaukee Road" , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwest and Northwest of the United States from 1847 until 1986. The company experienced ...
compensated for this problem by using a large number of powered axles. Modern freight electric locomotives, like their Diesel-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 by spur gearing, in which a pinion on the motor shaft engages a
bull gear This page lists the standard US nomenclature used in the description of mechanical gear construction and function, together with definitions of the terms. The terminology was established by the American Gear Manufacturers Association (AGMA), unde ...
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.


Wheel arrangements

The Whyte notation system for classifying
steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the loco ...
s is not adequate for describing the variety of electric locomotive arrangements, though the
Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...
applied classes to its electric locomotives as if they were steam. For example, the PRR GG1 class indicates that it is arranged like two
4-6-0 A 4-6-0 steam locomotive, under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, has four leading wheels on two axles in a leading bogie and six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles with the ...
class G locomotives coupled back-to-back.
UIC classification The UIC classification of locomotive axle arrangements, sometimes known as the German classification''The Railway Data File''. Leicester: Silverdale, 2000. p. 52. . or German system,Kalla-Bishop P.M. & Greggio, Luciano, ''Steam Locomotives'', Cre ...
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.


Battery locomotive

A battery-electric locomotive (or battery locomotive) is powered by onboard batteries; a kind of
battery electric vehicle A battery electric vehicle (BEV), pure electric vehicle, only-electric vehicle, fully electric vehicle or all-electric vehicle is a type of electric vehicle (EV) that exclusively uses chemical energy stored in rechargeable battery packs, wi ...
. Such locomotives are used where a diesel or conventional electric locomotive would be unsuitable. An example is maintenance trains on electrified lines when the electricity supply is turned off. Another use for battery locomotives is in industrial facilities (e.g. explosives factories, oil, and gas
refineries A refinery is a production facility composed of a group of chemical engineering unit processes and unit operations refining certain materials or converting raw material into products of value. Types of refineries Different types of refinerie ...
or chemical factories) where a combustion-powered locomotive (i.e., steam- or diesel-powered) could cause a safety issue due to the risks of fire, explosion or fumes in a confined space. Battery locomotives are preferred for
mine railways A mine railway (or mine railroad, U.S.), sometimes pit railway, is a railway constructed to carry materials and workers in and out of a mine. Materials transported typically include ore, coal and overburden (also called variously spoils, waste ...
where gas could be ignited by trolley-powered units arcing at the collection shoes, or where
electrical resistance The electrical resistance of an object is a measure of its opposition to the flow of electric current. Its reciprocal quantity is , measuring the ease with which an electric current passes. Electrical resistance shares some conceptual parallel ...
could develop in the supply or return circuits, especially at rail joints, and allow dangerous current leakage into the ground. The first electric locomotive built in 1837 was a battery locomotive. It was built by chemist Robert Davidson of
Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), a ...
in
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...
, and it was powered by galvanic cells (batteries). Another early example was at the
Kennecott Copper Mine The Bingham Canyon Mine, more commonly known as Kennecott Copper Mine among locals, is an open-pit mining operation extracting a large porphyry copper deposit southwest of Salt Lake City, Utah, in the Oquirrh Mountains. The mine is the largest m ...
, Latouche, Alaska, wherein 1917 the underground haulage ways were widened to enable working by two battery locomotives of . In 1928, Kennecott Copper ordered four 700-series electric locomotives with onboard batteries. These locomotives weighed and operated on 750 volts overhead trolley wire with considerable further range whilst running on batteries. The locomotives provided several decades of service using Nickel-iron battery (Edison) technology. The batteries were replaced with lead-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 the
Boone and Scenic Valley Railroad The Boone and Scenic Valley Railroad is a heritage railway, heritage railroad that operates freight and passenger excursions in Boone County, Iowa. History The heritage and excursion railroad was begun in 1983 by a group of volunteers who wanted ...
, Iowa, and at the Western Railway Museum in Rio Vista, California. The Toronto Transit Commission previously operated on the Toronto subway a battery electric locomotive built by
Nippon-Sharyo , formed in 1896, is a major rolling stock manufacturer based in Nagoya, Japan. In 1996, it abbreviated its name to "日本車両" Nippon Sharyō. Its shortest abbreviation is Nissha "日車". It was a listed company on Nikkei 225 until ...
in 1968 and retired in 2009. London Underground regularly operates battery-electric locomotives for general maintenance work. , battery locomotives with 7 and 14 MWh energy capacity have been ordered by rail lines and are under development.


Supercapacitor power storage

In 2020 Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Company, manufacturers of stored electrical power systems using supercapacitors initially developed for use in
tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport ...
s, announced that they were extending their product line to include locomotives.


Electric locomotives around the world


Europe

Electrification is widespread in Europe, with electric 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 modern British Rail Class 66 diesel locomotive was matched in 1927 by the electric SBB-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 like 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, like Switzerland, even electric shunters are common and many private sidings are served by electric locomotives. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, when materials to build new electric locomotives were not available,
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 ...
installed electric heating elements in the boilers of some steam shunters, fed from the overhead supply, to deal with the shortage of imported coal. 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 An electric multiple unit (EMU) is an electric train capable of operating in multiple with other EMUs that does not have a separate locomotive, typically passenger trains with accommodation in every vehicle and a driving position at each end. Th ...
were first introduced in the 1890s, 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 and Class 92.


Russia and former USSR

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...
and other countries of the former
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
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 from Škoda), 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 like VL82, which could switch from AC to DC and were used in small amounts around the city of
Kharkiv Kharkiv ( uk, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest city and municipality in Ukraine.
in
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...
. Also, the latest Russian passenger locomotive EP10 is 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 between Ufa and
Chelyabinsk Chelyabinsk ( rus, Челя́бинск, p=tɕɪˈlʲæbʲɪnsk, a=Ru-Chelyabinsk.ogg; ba, Силәбе, ''Siläbe'') is the administrative center and largest city of Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia. It is the seventh-largest city in Russia, with a ...
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, by
Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet Union, Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as Ge ...
) to electrify the highly loaded plain prairie line of
Omsk Omsk (; rus, Омск, p=omsk) is the administrative center and largest city of Omsk Oblast, Russia. It is situated in southwestern Siberia, and has a population of over 1.1 million. Omsk is the third largest city in Siberia after Novosibirsk a ...
-
Novosibirsk Novosibirsk (, also ; rus, Новосиби́рск, p=nəvəsʲɪˈbʲirsk, a=ru-Новосибирск.ogg) is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the 2021 Censu ...
. 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 like Moscow-Rostov-on-Don followed. In the 1990s, some DC lines were rebuilt as AC to allow the usage of the huge 10 MWt AC locomotive of VL85. The line around
Irkutsk Irkutsk ( ; rus, Иркутск, p=ɪrˈkutsk; Buryat and mn, Эрхүү, ''Erhüü'', ) is the largest city and administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. With a population of 617,473 as of the 2010 Census, Irkutsk is the 25th-larges ...
is one of them. The DC locomotives freed by this rebuild were transferred to the St Petersburg region. The
Trans-Siberian Railway The Trans-Siberian Railway (TSR; , , ) connects European Russia to the Russian Far East. Spanning a length of over , it is the longest railway line in the world. It runs from the city of Moscow in the west to the city of Vladivostok in the ea ...
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.


North America


Canada

Historically,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...
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 the St. Clair Tunnel Co. Boxcab Electric,
CN Boxcab Electric The Canadian National Class Z-1-a was a series of six electric locomotives built by General Electric for the Canadian Northern Railway in 1917. They were used in service through the Mount Royal Tunnel in Montreal until retirement in 1995, operating ...
, and
GMD GF6C The GF6C was an electric locomotive for freight duties built by General Motors Diesel in collaboration with ASEA of Sweden. Seven of these locomotives were built in 1983 and 1984, for use on the BC Rail's electrified Tumbler Ridge subdivision. ...
. Exo in
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...
operates ALP-45DP dual-mode electro-diesel locomotives in order to allow the locomotives to traverse the poorly ventilated Mount Royal Tunnel. The locomotives run in electric mode along the entire length of the Deux-Montagnes line and along 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 ...
between
Montreal Central Station Montreal Central Station (french: Gare centrale de Montréal) is the major inter-city rail station and a major commuter rail hub in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Nearly 11 million rail passengers use the station every year, making it the second-b ...
and Ahuntsic station. The locomotives run in diesel mode for the remainder of 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 ...
and along three other non-electrified lines. However, with the conversion of the Mount Royal Tunnel into the mainline of the Réseau express métropolitain light metro system and the permanent truncation of 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 ...
to Ahuntsic station starting in January 2020, the locomotives are run exclusively in diesel mode. 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 The GMD SW1200MG is a 4-axle electric locomotive built by General Motors Diesel between 1963 and 1971. The locomotive is the electric version of the diesel powered SW1200, with the prime mover replaced by a motor-generator set, hence the MG su ...
electric locomotives operated by the Iron Ore Company of Canada for a small isolated railway hauling raw ore from their Carol Lake mine to a processing plant. In the future Toronto's
GO Transit GO Transit is a regional public transit system serving the Greater Golden Horseshoe region of Ontario, Canada. With its hub at Union Station in Toronto, GO Transit's green-and-white trains and buses serve a population of more than seven mil ...
plans to operate a fleet of new electric locomotives as a part of its Regional Express Rail initiative. The feasibility of using hydrogen fuel-cell locomotives is also being studied.


United States

Electric locomotives are used for passenger trains on
Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada. ...
's
Northeast Corridor The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston through Providence, New Haven, Stamford, New York City, Philadelphia, Wilmington, ...
between
Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morg ...
, and
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, with a branch to
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in ...
, and on some
commuter rail Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are con ...
lines. Mass transit systems and other electrified commuter lines use
electric multiple unit An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number ...
s, where each car is powered. All other long-distance passenger service and, with rare 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 and commuter railroads in the Northeast. New Jersey Transit New York corridor uses
ALP-46 The Bombardier ALP-46 is an electric locomotive built in Germany by Bombardier between 2001 and 2002 for use in the United States. It is derived from the German Class 101. New Jersey Transit (NJT) is the only railroad to operate this locomotive ...
electric locomotives, due to the prohibition on diesel operation in
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 ...
and the Hudson and East River Tunnels leading to it. Some other trains to Penn Station use dual-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; for example,
Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada. ...
trains had extended stops in
New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134 ...
, as locomotives were swapped, a delay which contributed to the decision to electrify the New Haven to Boston segment of the
Northeast Corridor The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston through Providence, New Haven, Stamford, New York City, Philadelphia, Wilmington, ...
in 2000.


Asia


China

China has over of electrified railway. With most trunk line freight and long-distance passenger trains operated using high power electric locomotives, typically in excess of of power output. Heavy freight is hauled with extremely high power multi-section locomotives, reaching up to on the "Shen 24" series of six section electric locomotives.


India

All mainline electrified routes in India use 25 kV AC overhead electrification at 50 Hz. As of March 2017,
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 tota ...
haul 85% of freight and passenger traffic with electric locomotives and 45,881 km of railway lines have been electrified. File:SRE WAG12B 60094.jpg,
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 tota ...
12,000 HP freight class WAG-12 electric locomotive File:GMO WAP-7 39112.jpg,
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 tota ...
passenger class WAP-7 electric locomotive File:TATA WAG9HC.jpg,
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 tota ...
freight class WAG-9 electric locomotive


Japan

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 prefer
EMUs Emus may refer to: * Emu The emu () (''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is the second-tallest living bird after its ratite relative the ostrich. It is endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and the only extant member of the ...
over electric locomotives. Relegating electric locomotives to freight and select long-distance services, making the vast majority of electric rolling stock in Japan being operated with EMUs.


Australia

Both
Victorian Railways The Victorian Railways (VR), trading from 1974 as VicRail, was the state-owned operator of most rail transport in the Australian state of Victoria from 1859 to 1983. The first railways in Victoria were private companies, but when these companie ...
and New South Wales Government Railways, which pioneered electric traction in Australia in the early 20th century and continue to operate 1,500 V DC
Electric Multiple Unit An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number ...
s, 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 one major line (the Gippsland line) had been 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. VR's electric locomotive fleet was withdrawn from service by 1987 and the Gippsland line electrification was dismantled by 2004. The 86 class locomotives introduced to NSW in 1983 had a relatively short life as the costs of changing locomotives at the extremities of the electrified network, together with the higher charges levied for electricity use, saw diesel-electric locomotives make inroads into the electrified network. Electric power car trains are still used for urban passenger services. Queensland Rail implemented electrification relatively recently and utilises the more recent 25 kV AC technology with around 1,000 km of the narrow gauge network now electrified. It operates a fleet of electric locomotives to transport
coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when ...
for export, the most recent of which the 3,000 kW (4,020 HP) 3300/3400 Class. Queensland Rail is currently rebuilding its 3100 and 3200 class locos into the 3700 class, which use AC traction and need only three locomotives on a coal train rather than five. Queensland Rail is getting 30 3800 class locomotives from Siemens in Munich, Germany, which will arrive from late 2008 to 2009. QRNational (Queensland Rail's coal and freight after separation) has increased the order of 3800 class locomotives. They continue to arrive late into 2010.


See also

* Air brake (rail) *
Baldwin-Westinghouse electric locomotives Baldwin, the locomotive manufacturer, and Westinghouse, the promoter of AC (alternating current) electrification, joined forces in 1895 to develop AC railway electrification. Soon after the turn of the century, they marketed a single-phase hig ...
* Battery powered railcars *
Boxcab A boxcab, in railroad terminology, is a locomotive in which the machinery and crew areas are enclosed in a box-like superstructure (from boxcar). It is a term mostly used in North America while in Victoria (Australia), such locomotives have been ...
*
Cater MetroTrolley MetroTrolley is a battery electric vehicle developed in response to zero emission rail car requirements in certain environments. It was created in the hopes to replace the RRV Hi-Rail type road-rail vehicle that is used for ultrasonic rail fla ...
* Charles Grafton Page - electrical pioneer * Electric multiple unit * Electric-steam locomotives * Electric vehicle battery * Emily Davenport - electric locomotive pioneer * Heilmann locomotive * Hybrid train * Brake (railway), Railway brakes * Railway electrification system * Tram


References


Sources

* * * * * * * *


External links


Electric traction


{{DEFAULTSORT:Electric Locomotive Electric rail transport, Locomotive Electric locomotives, Locomotives Electric vehicles, Locomotives