Diesel Engine Trains; What Is The Mileage Of Passenger And Express Trains?

It is natural that people have many doubts regarding diesel engines of trains. A common question is how much mileage a diesel engine train can get. Here we try to find the answer.

Indian Railways is one of the important sectors of the country. Every day billions of people travel by trains. Currently there are electric, diesel and steam powered trains. CNG, renewable diesel and biodiesel blends are also used as fuel today. The country is also rapidly moving towards hydrogen fueled trains. But diesel is still used as fuel in many trains.

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The mileage of diesel engines depends on many factors. A passenger train with 12 coaches needs 6 liters of diesel to travel 1 km. An express train with 24 coaches with diesel engine gets the same mileage. But if an express train runs with 12 coaches this mileage reduces to 4.50 km.

The difference in mileage between passenger and express trains is due to the difference in the number of stops. Passenger trains have to use more brake and acceleration as they stop at more stops. Again the mileage of freight trains is less as compared to passenger trains. The reason is that they carry many times more weight than passenger trains. This puts stress on the engine and causes it to use more diesel.

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It is a regular sight in India that diesel engines of trains are left running for hours at the same place. There are two important things behind this. The first reason is that when the diesel engine is turned off, the pressure in the brake pipe is greatly reduced. The next reason is that it usually takes 20 to 25 minutes to start a diesel engine.