International Railway Journal - July 2008 - (Page 38)

China/Russia Velaro shows eastern promise Siemens’ Velaro high-speed trains are set to enter service soon in China and Russia, but the requirements of the two countries are very different. S IEMENS’ Velaro design is based on the ICE3 emus operated by German Rail (DB), and the company is now exporting the train. Spain already operates Velaro-E trains, and soon China and Russia will operate the trains too, with orders placed in 2005 and 2006 respectively. The Chinese Velaros will be known as CRH3 and are about to enter regular service in time for the Summer Olympics. A fleet of 60 eight-car CRH3 trains will be used on the Beijing Tianjin line, and there is scope for them to operate on other high-speed lines being built. Velaro RUS, the Russian version, will be shown to the public for the first time at InnoTrans in Berlin in September. A successful pre-development project with Russian Railways (RZD) led to an order being placed in 2006 for eight 10car 250km/h trains. These are the first Velaro trains designed to operate on lines electrified at 3kV dc. Four of the trains will be single system for service on the 645km main line between St Petersburg and Moscow. The other four will have multi-system capability to allow operation on 25kV ac lines as well, and are earmarked for service on the 436km route from Moscow to Nizhniy Novgorod. Velaro RUS had to satisfy Russian standards and undergo the demanding Russian certification procedure at the component level. RZD also specified that the vehicles had to be designed so that, if required at a later date, they could be modified to run at a maximum speed of 300km/h. The extreme climatic conditions in Russia are particularly challenging as the trains must operate at temperatures ranging from -40oC to +40oC. Things were different at the Chinese Ministry of Railways (MoR): it wanted a high percentage of the manufacturing for its Velaros to be performed locally in China, a large proportion of components and systems to be sourced indigenously, and a high degree of technology transfer during the project. The Chinese also stressed the need for high capacity in view of the vast numbers of people travelling by train every day in China. Major advantage The trains for China have one major advantage over their Russian counterparts: namely that Chinese regulations have much in common with the European standards. This made it much easier to design the Chinese trains according to the certification requirements than was the case with Velaro RUS. In contrast with Velaro-E and ICE-3, which are specially designed for operation in Europe, it was possible to increase the width of the bodyshells for Russia and China by 315mm from 2950mm to 3265mm to take advantage of the wider loading gauge in those countries. The eight-car trains for China, with first and second class accommodation, are something of a revolution in train interiors in that country. They have five seats per row in second class, and although the trains are only 200m long, seat 601 passengers. There is also still enough space for each car to have its own water heater so Chinese passengers do not have to go without their beloved cup of tea! Taking Chinese operating conditions into account, the trains are equipped with synthetic rubber floor coverings which are easy to clean. When it came to designing the driving vehicles for the Russian train, sufficient space had to be provided in the driver’s cab to accommodate a driver and an accompanying co-driver. The design also had to allow enough space to enable a 1.9m-tall driver to 38 IRJ July 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of International Railway Journal - July 2008

International Railway Journal - July 2008 Contents This Month News Transit News Market News/Technology News News Analysis Conference Report Korean Railways Face a Bright Future Korean Exports Surge Ahead Ready to Roll in China Velaro Shows Eastern Promise Are You Sitting Comfortably? Compin Meets New Challenges The Fabric of Society Grinding Out a Result Rendezvous Full Contact List The Last Word

International Railway Journal - July 2008

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