Aug 17 2007
Siemens Transportation Systems will team up with its Chinese partner CSR Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive CO., LTD (ZELC) to build 500 electric freight locomotives for Chinese railway. A corresponding contract calling for the supply of components and worth over 334 million euros has just been signed by Siemens and its Chinese partner.
The new locomotive represents the world’s most powerful series-production locomotive. It will be designed with an output rating of 9.6 megawatts — equal to the combined performance of 35 trucks — and put about 50 percent more power on the rails than the most powerful locomotives in Central Europe at present. With six axles and weighing up to 150 metric tones, resulting in an axle load of 25 tons, this freight locomotive will be able to operate at a top speed of 120 km/h. The first units are due to enter service at the beginning of 2009. The project planning for the drive system of the Chinese freight locomotives will be performed in Germany at the Siemens locations in Erlangen and Nuremberg, where the most important traction components will also be manufactured. The complete locomotives are to be built at the partner ZELC’s plant in Zhuzhou, China.
“This is the third freight locomotive order we’ve received from China since 1997, making us the most successful foreign supplier in this sector. Just the other day, only two locomotives which we had recently delivered were able to haul a 20,000-ton train instead of the four units previously required. All this proves that our products can compete successfully in this hotly contested market,” said Jörn F. Sens, Executive Vice President of Siemens Transportation Systems.