Dual-voltage

adj

adj ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Able to run using two different voltages, depending on the voltage supplied to the particular railway line, whether by third rail direct current or overhead wires. not-comparable

    "With multi-voltage techniques in their present state of development, the greatest disadvantage resulting from these differences is the impossibility of fast through multiple-unit expresses. Dual-voltage trains work between Amsterdam and Brussels, but many additional problems would arise if they were to run south of Luxembourg."

  2. 2
    Provided with two separate traction power supplies at different voltages, typically as a changeover point between voltages. not-comparable

    "Quévy, the end-to-end junction with the S.N.C.F. main line via Aulnoye to Paris, will be a dual-voltage station with arrangements of overhead and signalling equipment similar to those at Luxembourg, another junction between the 3,000V and 25kV systems."

Example

More examples

"With multi-voltage techniques in their present state of development, the greatest disadvantage resulting from these differences is the impossibility of fast through multiple-unit expresses. Dual-voltage trains work between Amsterdam and Brussels, but many additional problems would arise if they were to run south of Luxembourg."

Etymology

From dual + voltage.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.