International Railway Journal - August 2007 - (Page 18)

Locomotives The locomotives will be fitted with a compact Deutz 35kW auxiliary diesel which can maintain onboard systems when the main engine is shut down, thereby saving fuel. Voith designed a new wheelset for Maxima using components bought in from specialist manufacturers, and did the complete engineering for the bogie frame. This development by Voith reflects an increasing desire by customers to be in direct contact with as few component suppliers as possible. Hence, Voith’s philosophy of supplying components as part of larger packages for which Voith takes responsibility. Chinese partnership V Long range Voith’s new SilentVent fan uses sickleshaped blades to reduce noise. the year, is a modular electronic control system for the entire locomotive with a diagnostics system. Each module is encased in a metal housing to make it very robust. Maxima has a very large cooling system with a capacity of 140m3/hour. The cooling system will be equipped with Voith’s new SilentVent ventilator, which uses sickle-shaped blade geometry to reduce the noise of the ventilator by 5dB(A) compared with a conventional Voith ventilator. “The engine on a locomotive produces the most noise, followed by the cooling system, hence the benefit of our new ventilator,” says Uhl. Maxima is designed to meet all the current TSI noise requirements. The only difference between the two types of Maxima locomotive is the number of cylinders in the engine and the layout of the cooling system. Voith uses the weight saved in the Maxima 30, which has a 12-cylinder engine, to fit a slightly larger fuel tank to extend its range. Maxima 30 should have a range of about 2500km when hauling a 1600tonne container train at a maximum of 120km/h, which should be sufficient for most round trips in Europe. Maxima can also be equipped for passenger operation, with a maximum speed of 160km/h. Maxima is designed for cross-border operation in Europe from the outset. The first Maxima 40, for example, is equipped to run in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, and Poland. This locomotive will go to the Velim test centre in the Czech Republic in October for a series of acceptance tests, and will OITH Turbo is negotiating with Sifang, China, to produce diesel-hydraulic locomotives in China to Voith’s design. “We should complete the negotiations by the end of the summer allowing production of the first two locomotives to start by the end of the year ready for roll-out by the end of 2008,” says MBA Dipl-Ing Christoph Uhl, head of rail marketing with Voith Turbo. The main stumbling block at the moment is the choice of a 2MW diesel engine for the new locomotive, which will be designed for both mainline operation and shunting. Voith is currently considering engines from Caterpillar and Cummins. The main objective is not to compete with Maxima or Gravita in Europe, but to have a locomotive that has a first cost low enough to make it competitive in up-coming markets such as Asia, Africa, and South America. “Chinese manufacturers have the latest machine tools in their factories, but very low production costs,” says Uhl. Voith believes this is a strategic way to sell low-priced, but reliable locomotives to customers in such countries. Computer rendering of the Gravita 15 BB which will be powered by a 12-cyclinder engine. then return to Germany for its final certification before the end of the year. Meanwhile three more Maxima 40s are being built. Gravita is a family of five single-cab locomotives for regional freight and shunting duties. Gravita 20, 15 and 10 are BoBo locomotives, while Gravita 5 C has three axles, and Gravita 5 B only two. Voith says Gravita 20 will be the most powerful single-cab locomotive on the market, and will be equipped for cross-border operation. “We are now starting production of Gravita,” says Dip-Ing Detlef Eggers, senior project manager in Kiel. “We will build one prototype Gravita 15 and one Gravita 10 in time to have Gravita on show at InnoTrans in September next year. We are already in detailed discussions with customers regarding these two types.” With its first orders in the bag for both Maxima and Gravita, and keen interest from prospective customers, Voith appears to be on the right track with its new locomotive venture. IRJ 18 IRJ August 2007

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of International Railway Journal - August 2007

Contents This month News Market News Transit News News Analysis Voith Goes For Maxima Impact First Gauge-Changeable Loco Under Test Power Surge China Feels the Need For Speed A Firm Foundation For Chinese High-Speed Testing Times on the Betuwe Route Tough Tests For Mass Transit Software A Measure of Success Rendezvous Full Contact List Advertisers Index The Last Word

International Railway Journal - August 2007

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