Refuel train when needed *Help Please* (2024)

FAQs

How do you refuel a train? ›

Truck pulls along side the locomotive and literally puts a hose in the locomotive's tank, just like a fuel pump on wheels. There are places where they go to refuel. Railway Locos are Refueled in their Maintenance yards after completion of hauling duties.

The trains only check for low fuel when the train stops at a train station (mostly for performance reasons, but also just for simplicity). If the train needs fuel, it will go to the refuel station as its next stop.

The locomotives hold roughly 1800 gallons, and are fueled every day they're in service. Trains that spend the night at outlying points are fueled mid day.

In some larger railroad terminals there's a fueling area where several locomotives can be fueled at the same time from the storage tanks and fuel stands beside the track with hoses to reach the locomotive tanks. So it is essentially a locomotive gas station just on a much larger scale than car and truck gas stations.

Diesel-Powered Trains: Diesel locomotives are commonly used in many rail systems. On average, a typical freight diesel locomotive can consume 3 to 5 gallons of diesel fuel per mile. Passenger diesel trains might have slightly lower fuel consumption. Electric Trains: Electric trains rely on electricity rather than fuel.

Today's train locomotives are already quite fuel efficient, especially compared to trucks. In fact, trains can haul one ton of goods an average of more than 480 miles on just a single gallon of fuel, making them 3-4 times more fuel efficient than trucks.

Similarly, a typical train might haul 3,000 tons of freight 500 miles and consume approximately 2,964 gallons of diesel fuel. The efficiency of this freight haul would be calculated as: (3000 tons x 500 miles) / (2,964 gallons) = 506 ton-miles per gallon.

It takes a train 10 seconds to get 1 unit of fuel. This means that a bullet without any fuel cars takes 1 hour and 40 minutes to refuel from completely empty.

Fuel Tank. This huge tank in the underbelly of the locomotive holds up to 5,500 gallons (20,820 liters) of diesel fuel, plus an additional 300 gallons (1,135 liters) of coolant, and 250 gallons (946 liters) of engine oil.

Beyond renewable diesel, Amtrak is also exploring alternative propulsion technology and battery power, ammonia, and hydrogen aren't commercially viable solutions at this time. Without a national network of unified fueling stations or charging solutions, we can only operate on traditional diesel.

What fuel does train run with? ›

The Indian Railways operates various types of locomotives powered by diesel. These trains offer different mileage based on their categorisation, as well as factors such as weight, power and distance travelled.