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Photo: Oleg Kotov

Kazakhstan Electrics Take Shape

In October 2010 KTZ, Alstom andTMH signed a contract for 295 25 kV50 Hz electric locomotives (see R 5/10,p. 19). Of those 200 will be Class KZ8Atwo-section Bo’Bo’+Bo’Bo’ machines,intended for very heavy freight work of up to 9,000 t. They will be 35 mlong, weigh 200 t, and will be rated at8,800 kW with a starting tractive effortof 833 kN and a top service speed of 120 km/h. The KZ8As will be of a new design, as shown in the ar-tist’s impression. This is similar to thedesign used for the power cars conside-red for hauling RZD’s new double deckEMUs - see R 4/11, p. 72).

To enable operation under very lowtemperatures, appropriate modificationsare necessary. For example, in the caseof the air-supply components new elas-tomers and greases had to be used thatoffered better elasticity and viscositythan traditional materials for extremetemperatures as low as -50 0C. Whenit came to the bogie brake equipment,various design modifications wererequired to adapt it to the kinematics ofoperating even at an extreme -55 0C.

High-performance lubricants and elasto-mers were used to ensure the right levelsof internal friction, for example the springactuator had to be reliably released inan emergency, even at -55 0C.

The two prototype KZ8A locomotivesare scheduled to be delivered fromAlstom’s Belfort works in late 2012.The remaining 198 locomotives of thebatch, together with the 95 Class KZ4A200 km/h Bo’Bo’ express passengerlocomotives, will be assembled in Ka-zakhstan, in a new locomotive worksin Astana which is currently being builtboth by Alstom and TMH. KZ8A-0003will be outshopped there in 2013. Therewas also a decision to cooperate withGE and to produce the bogies at Loko-motiv Kurastyru Zauyty (LKZ) works inAstana, where Evolution locomotivesfor KTZ are already being built (see R 1/12, p. 16).

Jaromír Pernička

Picture: Alstom

036 are scheduled to be built, and willbe used on passenger services linkingMoskva with Sochi. By 2020 RZD plansto receive in all 200 EP20s.

TMH

Henschel Antriebstechnik of Kassel delivered a fully sus-

pended locomotive drive forthe EP20 (shown on the

left). It was debuted atInnoTrans 2010 (see R 5/10,

p. 34) and exists in two differentversions for operational top speeds

of 160 and 200 km/h. The power trans-fer from the traction motor to the axleis realised by the gear units, in whichthe coupling between the motor andgearbox is by diaphragm coupling withoverload protection, and that betweenthe gearbox and axle is an elastic link.The ratio is 4,05 (5,17), the nominalpower 1,200 kW, the maximum speedof the motor is 3,750 rpm, its max. star-ting torque is 9,255 Nm, and the com-pleted gearbox assembly weighs around1,660 kg. The drive is designed for extre-me environmental conditions, includingan ambient temperature range of -50 to+55 0C. The first series of 200 km/h drivesystems were supplied to Novocher-kassk in June 2012.

Henschel

Class EP20s On TestBy late spring 2012 the test pro-

gramme of the new express passen-ger locomotives destined for RZD was running according to schedule.To accelerate the whole testing proce-dure there are two prototypes, EP20-001 and 002, involved simultaneously.These started dynamic testing on thetwo test circuits owned by the Russianrail research institutes, both on the VEL-NII test circuit at Novocherkassk (adja-cent to the NEVZ factory), and on thatbelonging to VNIIZhT at Shcherbinka.

EP20-001 started its test runs onthe VELNII track in April 2011. Thesefocused on tuning up the software ofall on-board systems. The locomotivethen had a rest in early September,being presented at EXPO 2011 (see R 5/11, p. 41), being moved to Shcher-binka between 26 and 30 August inreadiness for this event. The returnjourney to Novocherkassk took placebetween 10 and 20 September, wherethe test runs on the VELNII circuitresumed on the 21st. Testing there wasconcluded on 14 February 2012.

Later the same month EP20-001was returned to Shcherbinka, where itwas subjected to dynamic performancetrials, and realised the obligatory5,000 km of trouble-free running, thuspaving the way for authorisation testing.This involved testing the performanceand control of the auxiliary drives, thelocomotive’s control system, tractivetests including the monitoring of systemheating during power applications,braking tests in recuperative and resi-stance modes, diagnostics tests, and,last but not least, tests of the locomo-tive’s environmental friendliness and of the fire safety and explosion-proofaspects of its design and equipment.

In late April 2012 EP20-001 wasdispatched to the testing „polygon“ (thisterm is used widely by Russia rail wor-kers to describe a test site) betweenBelorechenskaya and Maykop in Kras-nodar oblast (region), not far fromSochi, where this stretch of line is fre-quently used for test runs at speedsup to 160 km/h. The machine wasscheduled to return to the VELNII basein June, for the final phases of authori-sation, which is expected for grantingin September, thus giving EP20-001type approval, and making it ready forhanding over to RZD.

As for the testing involving EP20-002, this started in October 2011 inNovocherkassk, as was the case with001, involving the tuning of on-boardsoftware, and this phase lasted untilJanuary 2012. During this period thelocomotive was completed, receivinga final coat of paint in the latest RZDlivery (see R 1/12, p. 10). In Marchthere followed a move to Shcherbinka.Various other tests were realised here,and the locomotive also completed itsobligatory 5,000 km of trouble-freerunning. In late April, at Moskva-Rizh-sky vokzal terminus, EP20-002 wasdisplayed at RZD’s exhibition of tech-nical developments and presented(together with the Lastochka EMU) toRussia’s President, Vladimir Putin. Theaccompanying photo shows EP20-002 already on the Shcherbinkatest circuit during a trial run on 30 April 2012.

Since 11 May 2012 EP20-002 hasbeen back in Novocherkassk, and isnow being prepared by VELNII for testson the Belorechen-skaya polygon atspeeds bet-

ween 140 and 160 km/h. Duringthese runs the influence of thelocomotive on the infrastructurewill also be simultaneously measured,this serving as groundwork for testrunning at speeds of between 200 and220 km/h on the Oktyabrskaya doroga,between Moskva and St. Petersburg.In late July EP20-002 was scheduledto return to the VELNII test circuit forthe final stages of authorisation testing,and it is expected that it would receivetype approval at the same time asEP20-001.

The green light for the start of batchconstruction will be given soon. First,a decision has to be taken over whetherfour or eight such locomotives will bebuilt during the remainder of 2012.During 2013 locomotives up to EP20-

On 28 June 2012 WärtsiläTMH Diesel Engine Company LLC(a joint venture, the agreement forwhich was signed in May 2010,owned 50/50 by Wärtsilä andTMH), announced it was ready tostart construction of a 10,000 m2

factory located within the premi-ses of Penzadieselmash, a TMHcompany. Annual production isexpected to be between 250 and300 engines, and the works willeventually employ some 300 peo-ple. Production is expected to startup in summer 2013. The engineswill be used for shunting locomo-tives, and for various marine andland-based power applications,and are intended primarily for theRussian market.

The first shunter already deve-loped by Wärtsilä and TMH, forRZD, is to be powered by a Wär-tsilä 20LA engine to be producedby the joint venture. After one yearof different types of testing, a Cer-tificate of Conformance has nowbeen issued by the RS FZhTAgency for Railway Transport,under the supervision of RZD andBryansky mashinostroitelny zavod,which is a TMH subsidiary.

Wärtsilä

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