Q. Ever wondered , why DIESEL LOCOMOTIVES are left IDLE or not SHUTDOWN??
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You all have observed many times that diesel locomotives are kept idle in the yards and also when waiting for too long in the yards or station especially for goods train. Loco pilots can switch off the diesel engine and save fuel instead of running in IDLE condition
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they don't do because
1. The brake pipe pressure reduces due to the leakages and it takes longer time to build up working pressure again.It is very curcial when waiting for the signal on the grade.
2. A proper checklist have to followed to recrank the engine. It takes 10-15 min to do so when starting after a long shutdown.
3. To keep the compressor running , engine must not be switched off as it is coupled with the engine.
4. As the diesel engine contains usually 16 cylinders and are also big in size , so it is quite difficult to achieve ignition temperature.There are many auxiliary components running so if one fails or some technical parameter changes may cause problem in starting.
A new technological improvement and upgradation is done in indian railways. A new fuel saving device called APU (AUXILIARY POWER UNIT) are being installed in the diesel locomotives.In future, Indian railways plan to fit APU on 100 per cent in newly-built diesel locomotives which will then result in saving of more than Rs 60 crore annually in future. Use of APU also results in lower CO2 emission and other pollutants like HC, NOx, CO etc."
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