page_title: Pantograph (transport)
section_title: Single and double pantographs
hierarchical_section_title: Pantograph (transport) / Single and double pantographs
caption_attribution_description: English: Pantograph diagram.
context_page_description: A pantograph is an apparatus mounted on the roof of an electric train, tram, trolleybus, trolley truck or electric bus to collect power through contact with an overhead line. Battery electric buses and trains are charged at charging stations. It is a common type of current collector. Typically, a single or double wire is used, with the return current running through the rails. The term stems from the resemblance of some styles to the mechanical pantographs used for copying handwriting and drawings.
context_section_description: Pantographs may have either a single or a double arm. Double-arm pantographs are usually heavier, requiring more power to raise and lower, but may also be more fault-tolerant.
  On railways of the former USSR, the most widely used pantographs are those with a double arm ("made of two rhombs"), but since the late 1990s there have been some single-arm pantographs on Russian railways. Some streetcars use double-arm pantographs, among them the Russian KTM-5, KTM-8, LVS-86 and many other Russian-made trams, as well as some Euro-PCC trams in Belgium. American streetcars use either trolley poles or single-arm pantographs.
caption: Diagram of parts of a pantograph from ICE S
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