How do American and European freight trains differ?

They all carry freight so from that point of view, not a lot. It's also different to generalise about European trains because each country has a slightly different approach to running their railways. That said I think two things stand out. One is the length of trains. read more

For most of the day European timetables are structured by a regular rhythm of passenger trains which must operate on time, freight trains have to go between and the capacity is best if they are not that much slower than the passenger trains. read more

US vs European Locomotives Posted by GP-9_Man11786 on Wednesday, March 25, 2009 6: 20 PM When comparing US and European diesel locomotives, it seems road switchers are more popular in the US but full-cowl carbodies are more popular in Europe. read more

Due to institutional and infrastructural reasons, train capacities and cost structures in North American and European railway freight traffic differ from each other. This results in very centralized railway traffic in Europe. According to the different circumstances, the planning issues differ from each other, too. read more