06-16-2017, 08:01 AM
(06-15-2017, 10:36 PM)jamincan Wrote: Aren't diesel locomotives actually driven by electric motors too? I always thought the main benefit came when you had EMUs.
Yes, this is the case, diesel locomotives are already electric, so what is driving the wheels is the same.
You can also do DMUs for a similar benefit to EMUs.
A perusal of wikipedia would seem to suggest one of the benefits of the overhead catenary system is actually an increase in power over what is feasible with diesel. Also, there is substantially less weight not having to haul around a diesel engine and a generator, but that's obviously lost on dual mode trains.