Electric traction
Electric traction offers a lower cost per mile of train operation but at a higher initial cost, which can only be justified on high traffic lines. Even though the cost per mile of construction is much higher, electric traction is more viable during operation because diesel import costs are substantially higher. Electric trains receive their current via overhead lines or through a third rail electric system.[citation needed]
A developing technology is fuel cells, which combine the advantage of not needing an electrical system in place, with the advantage of emissionless operation. However, an impediment is substantial initial cost associated with fuel cell vehicles.[4]
Passenger trains
Interior of a passenger car in a long-distance train in Finland
A passenger train includes passenger-carrying vehicles and can often be very long and fast. It may be a self-powered multiple unit or railcar, or a combination of one or more locomotives and one or more unpowered trailers known as coaches, cars or carriages. Passenger trains travel between stations or depots, where passengers may board and disembark. In most cases, passenger trains operate on a fixed schedule and have superior track occupancy rights over freight trains.
Unlike freight trains, passenger trains must supply head-end power to each coach for such purposes as lighting and heating, etc. This can be drawn directly from the locomotive’s prime mover (modified for the purpose), or from a separate diesel generator in the locomotive. A separate generator van may be used for passenger services on remote routes where a head-end-equipped locomotive is not always available.[5][6]
The oversight of a passenger train is the responsibility of the conductor, who is sometimes assisted by other crew members such as service attendants or porters. During the peak in popularity of North American passenger rail travel, long-distance trains carried two conductors: the main train conductor was accompanied by a Pullman conductor, in charge of sleeping car personnel.
