” It limits locomotive idling and increases reporting requirements.”
Utterly deranged. The diesel engines in those things are HUGE. They are not always easy to turn off and on. And heating and cooling cycles and cold start ups will wear the living hell out of them.
Also, the diesel does not drive the wheels in any direct way. There is no drive shaft etc. It only spins a large generator to make electricity. The current then turns the wheels using electric traction motors much like on a toy train.
Modern freight trains may be a mile and a half long and be stacked double high with shipping boxes. Instead of 5 or 6 locomotives, you’ll need 500 trucks to move those loads.
We are ruled by idiots.
Why?
The public has been cajoled into thinking that PUBLIC 'servant' means something else.