Rail engines have to be very powerful indeed, to pull today's trains and though rail gradients have been improved somewhat there is still a great deal of excess capacity wasted, for what are unusual patches of an otherwise flat journey.

Adding some sort of locomotive capability to all rolling stock would assist considerably when needed.

With the vast weights involved in rolling stock it would be quite simple to use regenerative braking systems to store energy gained on downhill runs, too.
-- UnaBubba, Mar 20 2004

Diesel multiple units - British Rail http://www.lexcie.z...t.co.uk/oli-dmu.htm
[Ling, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 21 2004]

Not necessarily. I'll run this one by a friend, who is general manager (construction) of a train building firm. Their last big project was Kuala Lumpur's light rail rollout. He'll know the details.
-- UnaBubba, Mar 21 2004


When I used to commute, I remember there was a diesel unit under each coach on some trains. They don't use regen systems, however. Just generate plenty of brake dust. See link.
-- Ling, Mar 21 2004


Several train systems use self-motivated rolling stock, as it were - see Ling's link.
-- DrCurry, Mar 21 2004



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