BNSF1995 Wrote:
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> The freight railroads have invested too much in
> diesel locomotives. That, and it would be
> cost-prohibitive to electrifiy every single
> branchline and industrial spur.


Even in Europe there are non-electrified tracks in almost every station, and many industrial and branch lines are also not electrified. The percentages of electrification quoted in most statistics are for intercity mainlines.

Even the Swiss railroads have a substantial number of diesel locomotives for working industries and for use on work trains on track sections where the catenary is either turned off intentionally for maintenance or has been damaged by storms or other factors.

On the other hand, dual mode locomotives with both straight electric and diesel electric power are gaining in popularity in Europe. Some of these are not only dual mode but also multi-system, meaning they can operate on the different electrical systems of several countries. There are essentially two different types of dual mode locomotives: Those that are designed for mainline use in either mode (though the diesel mode typically provides less power than straight electric) and "last mile" locomotives that have much lower diesel power, primarily to be used for low speed switching.

Two of the most popular mainline dual mode locomotives come from Stadler, the EuroDual and the Euro9000 (the latter being the newer version available with multi-system features). You can search for more information on these.

While the European dual mode locomotives are designed primarily for freight service, I would not be surprised if Stadler tried to adapt and market one of these models for American passenger service.

Even some maintenance of way equipment in Europe is now dual mode, including a mainline tamper from Plasser that can operate in full electric mode under catenary and in diesel-electric mode where catenary power in not available.