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Technologies
April’ 1956 by Late Shri Rajendra Prasad, the first President of the Republic of
India. The first DLW built diesel-electric locomotive, in technical collaboration with
January 1964 by Late Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri, who later became the second
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Important milestones in the journey of DLW:
DLW has achieved the distinction of being the top diesel electric locomotive
manufacturer in Asia and no. 3 in the World(in terms of no. of locomotives turned
out).
Technology upgradation
Continuous efforts to keep abreast with the latest technologies in the field of
traction by embracing new concepts and techno-innovative ideas has been the
guiding principle of DLW. The constant urge to innovate and improve has led to
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several milestones being achieved with the production of a number of new design
Some of the new features introduced by DLW in high horse power (HHP)
and crew comfort include ‘hotel load’ (Head end power) feature, ACES (Auto
Control of Engine Stop) with APU (Auxiliary Power Unit), DPCS (Distributed Power
Control System) feature, Air Conditioned locomotive driving Cabs, Integrated Driver
Gauge) diesel electric locomotives, intermediate vacuum type toilet module, with
on-board sewage treatment system, for crew, 3-phase inverter based Motor Driven
Oil Free Air Compressors and Radial Bogies . A brief write-up on new technologies
adopted and under development by DLW in the high horsepower (HHP) and new
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Hotel Load on HHP Locomotives
Electrical Control
Cabinets
Loco Control
Computer
is termed as “Hotel Load’ power. ‘Hotel Load’’ for a passenger train comprises of
electrical load for (i) Heating, Ventilation & Air Conditioning (HVAC) (ii) lighting and
(iii) fans. Two coaches with installed DG sets, generally called power cars, are
mostly used, one at either end of the Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Garib Rath type
passenger trains, to take care of the hotel load requirement. Train configurations
having power car at either end of the rake are classified as EOG (End-On-
Generation) type.
Indian Railways is envisaging use of a more energy efficient system with Head-
End-Power (HEP) wherein the hotel load requirements of entire rake is fed from
locomotive itself. The technology involves use of an additional inverter within the
existing AC-AC traction system module, dedicated for supplying electrical power for
hotel load requirements of a passenger train rake. Capacity of the hotel load
inverter of locomotives is 500KVA and 3-phase power is supplied at 750V (50 Hz)
to make it compatible with the existing hotel load supply arrangement working with
Lucknow-Bhopal Garib Rath iii) Anand Vihar Terminus-Kathgodam Shatabdi and iv)
Since, power cars can be eliminated from the trains hauled with locomotives
ACES (Automatic Control of Engine Stop) with APU (Auxiliary Power Unit) on
HHP Locomotives
Normally, even when a train is not running, loco engine has to be kept in running to
meet compressed air and battery charging requirements. ACES with APU is being
used for shutting down the main engine when it remains in idling state for more than
a specified duration for reducing the consumption of fuel and also wear and tear of
the main engine. The system monitors and maintains the critical locomotive
parameters to keep the locomotive in a state of readiness for re-start at a very short
notice. The system comprises of a small diesel engine (25 hp) coupled to an air
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compressor (rating: 42 CFM @10Kg/cm2) and an alternator (rating: 2 KW). The
compressor unit supplies compressed air to compensate for the air leakages in the
train brake system and the alternator unit charges the batteries while the main
Initially, ACES with APU was developed for ALCO locomotives and presently more
than 100 locos are running with this feature. After successful development of ACES
with APU for ALCO Locomotives, fitment of this system has been extended to HHP
locomotives also. DLW has now decided to fit it on all 4500 HP locomotives to be
due to the existing space constraint in HHP locomotives, size of the engine has
been reduced in the APU designed for application in HHP locomotives. The APU is
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The benefits achieved with this system on a locomotive are:
system that enables coordinated braking and traction power distribution between
lead and remote locomotives. The system provides control of remote locomotives
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by command signals sensed at the lead locomotive and transmitted over a radio
data link to the remote locomotives. Operational advantages achieved with this
system include:
This system provides capability for heavy haul involving movement of longer trains.
The latest system permits positioning of locomotives in the train configuration with a
maximum distance between the lead and remote loco of upto 3 Km. DLW has
turned out 10 HHP freight locomotives equipped with DPCS feature till date .
Recently, for the first time in the history of Indian Railways, a freight train, 2.54 Km
long, was hauled by HHP locomotives equipped with DPCS system. The train
consisting of 4 empty container rakes was hauled by 3 HHP locos for a distance of
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6000 HP Diesel Electric Locomotive
Considering the future rail transportation scenario which envisages major changes
in the traffic pattern by utilizing concepts like exclusive freight corridor, switch-over
to double stack container movement and the need for increased operational speed
for freight trains, further enhancement in the haulage capability of a diesel electric
freight train having 59 BOXN (5385T) load hauled by the existing HHP locomotives
on a level track is around 90 kmph with 5500 HP WDG5 freight loco and 80 kmph
with 4500 HP WDG4 freight loco. A 6000 HP Diesel Electric locomotive hauling this
load will achieve a maximum speed of 100 Kmph on level track. The maximum
sixteen 6000 HP diesel electric locomotives. DLW has already finalized design
open a new window for adoption of new traction technologies by IR. Manufacture of
technically advanced system design and system integration. Some of the salient
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Noise Vibration and Harshness (NVH) compliance and other state-of-the-art
features.
Hydrogen powered fuel cells are an emerging technology and have the potential to
advantages like zero carbon emission make this technology attractive for addressing
requirement directly from either the hydrogen fuel cell stack or battery bank onboard
Hydrogen is used as energy source in a fuel cell hybrid locomotive. Use of hydrogen
India will be the third country in the world to introduce fuel cell technology in the
the field of traction. It will be equipped with 300 KW rating PEM (Proton Exchange
Membrane) type fuel cell stack modules and battery bank and have peak transient
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