RTSA

INDIAN RAILWAYS ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVES - SUPPLY & TRANSFER

OF TECHNOLOGY

Neal Lawson, B Eng (Mech) and David Gale, BSc

Daimler Chrysler Rail Systems (Australia) Ply. Ltd.

SUMMARY

In July 1993, Indian Railways awarded the contract to ABB Transportation Systems Ltd., Switzerland to
design and manufacture 11 high-speed passenger locomotives and 22 freight locomotives featuring state-of­
the-art GTO traction technology. The contract also included a complete Transfer of Technology (TOT) of
both the electrical and mechanical design and manufacture to enable production of the first indigenously
produced GTO three phase drive locomotives in the history of Indian Railways.

For the execution of this project a consortium was established between ABB Transportation Systems Ltd.
(Switzerland) and ABB Transportation Systems (Australia) Ply Ltd.

Part of the fleet of freight locomotives was shipped in kit form directly to India. Final assembly and
commissioning was undertaken by Indian Railways staff, under the guidance of Adtranz representatives, at
the Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW) in the State of West Bengal. Thereby started the "the hands on"
Transfer of Technology for manufacture of state-of-the-art GTO locomotives to Indian Railways.

In November 1998, Indian Railways "rolled ouf' the first indigenously produced locomotive, featuring three­
phase propulsion with microprocessor control, demonstrating satisfactory execution of the Transfer of
Technology by Adtranz.

1 INTRODUCTION tender for locomotives featuring state of the art

traction technology. This time the tender called
Indian Railways operates one of the largest rail for a three-phase locomotive to be supplied.
systems in the world. Since 1961, 25 kV electric
locomotives have been built and operated by Indian Railways also desired the ability to
Indian Railways. These locomotives utilised a manufacture these locomotives in their own
tap changer propulsion system with DC traction facilities to carry on their proud tradition of
motors indigenous manufacture. Thus, the necessary
technology was to be transferred to them.
In the 1980s, Indian Railways recognised the
need to up-date their traction technology to 2 ABBREVIATIONS
modern state of the art propulsion. A split order
was placed with ASEA Traction of Sweden and IR Indian Railways
Hitachi for DC motored locomotives featuring CKD Completely Knocked Down
phase angle controlled propulsion. These were Semi-knocked Down
SKD
delivered from 1987.
TOT Transfer of Technology
WAG9 Freight Locomotives
In the late 1980s, thyristor technology
development led to rapid improvements in the WAP5 Passenger Locomotives
available traction equipment and so the CLW Chitlaranjan Locomotive Works
technology purchased by Indian Railways was
already superceded by AC propulsion. A
decision was made by Indian Railways to again

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Neal Lawson and David Gale
Daimler Chrysler Rail Systems (Australia) Ply Ud
3 AWARD OF CONTRACT
3.1 Contract history
Indian Railways first called tenders for three­
phase locomotives in 1987. At that time both
BBC (Switzerland) and ASEA (Sweden)
submitted tenders. ASEA had just commenced
delivery of twelve, phase-angle controlled tri-Bo
locomotives (based on their successful Rc­
locomotive family) and was keen to capitilise on
this toehold in the market.
In 1988, ASEA and BBC merged to form the
industrial giant ABB. This allowed Indian
Railways to "pick and choose" between various
features of the two previously competing tenders
and to compare the price of the features of the
two offers. ABB had internally allocated the
project to Switzerland, who was now under
pressure to reduce the price of the mechanical
portion to match the Swedish price. BBC
Switzerland had originally partnered with BBC
Germany for the design and supply of the
bogies and superstructure, but fierce internal
competition resulted to ensure the lowest cost
and highest profit margin was secured for the
global company. These internal tendering
processes resulted in a consortium between
ABB (Switzerland) and ABB (Australia) being
established to design and supply these
locomotives to Indian Railways.
In July 1993, ABB was awarded the contract to
design and manufacture 11 main line, high­
speed passenger locomotives rvvAP5} and 22
freight locomotives rvv AG9} to Indian Railways.
The contract also called for ABB to transfer this
"state of the art" GTO thyristor three-phase
propulsion technology to Indian Railways so that
they could manufacture these locomotives in
India. The intention was to upgrade from the tap
changer technology available to them at that
time and eventually export locomotives to other
countries. Design, manufacture, assembly,
testing and commissioning technologies were all
to be transferred. To assist in this technology
transfer, a lot of 7 and another of 9 WAG9
locomotives were to be supplied in semi­
knocked down (SKD) and completely knocked
down (CKD) condition respectively, and finished
in India.
In 1996, ABB Transportation merged with
Daimler-Benz and became known as Adtranz.
The remaining text of this paper therefore uses
20.2
Indian Railways Electric Locomotives -
Supply and Transfer of Technology
Adtranz to refer to the companies previously
know as ABB Transportation.
3.2 Project management on a global scale
The final split of work internally within the
Adtranz group was on a global scale. Adtranz
Switzerland was the project leader and was
responsible for the design and manufacture of
the propulsion equipment in Zurich. They were
also responsible for final assembly, testing and
commissioning in Zurich. ABB Secheron in
Geneva supplied main transformers.
Adtranz in Australia undertook the design and
manufacture of the superstructures with design
lead from Brisbane, Queensland and
manufacturing in Dandenong, Victoria. Sub­
contracts were awarded to Adtranz Germany for
the design of the bogies and with Adtranz
Austria for the design and supply of the
gearboxes. The bogies were fabricated in
Australia under license with final assembly
performed in Zurich. Davies and Metcalfe
supplied the brake system, with design
performed at their UK site.
Measuring wheel sets were also required under
the contract. The supplier of these was
SwedeRaii in Sweden.
Final on-track commissioning was performed in
India, and so a contract for local support was
awarded to Adtranz I ndia. The contract was for
commissioning and warranty support of the
finished locomotives and for support during the
assembly and commissioning of the SKD and
CKD locomotives.
3.3 Project timing
The delivery schedule for the locomotives was
ambitious and the warranty and TOT support
period arduous. The first passenger locomotive
was to be delivered within 18 months and the
first freight locomotive within 27 months of
contract award. The warranty period extends
over 5 years from vehicle acceptance. The TOT
agreement is valid for 10 years after contract
award.
4 VEHICLE DESCRIPTION
4.1 Passenger Locomotive (WAP 5)
The salient features of the WAP5 high-speed
passenger locomotives are shown in Figure 1.
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WAG
WAP5
- worn
Figure 1: Salient features of the WAP5 and WAG9 locomotives
This vehicle is lightweight and of BoBo
configuration. The vehicle was designed for a
maximum speed of 160 kph but can be made to
operate up to 200 kph by changing the gear
ratio, should the tracks be upgraded to a
suitable standard.
A brief description of the major features of the
vehicles is outlined in the following sections.
20.3
Indian Railways Electric Locomotives -
Supply and Transfer of Technology
9
4.1.1 Electrical equipment
The propulsion system is based upon the well­
proven modular GTO Lok 2000 technology
modified for the Indian terrain and high ambient
temperature conditions. An harmonic filter is
also fitted.
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For redundancy purposes, two pantographs are
provided, with the trailing pantograph being
selected for normal service. The roof mounted
vacuum circuit breaker supplies the nominal
25 kV to the underfloor mounted main
transformer. On the WAP5 locomotive, a hotel
load winding is provided to supply power to the
passenger coaches.
The main transformer utilises oil cooling, sharing
the forced air ventilation for the oil cooling of the
GTO units in the main converter.
The propulsion system features regenerative
braking to provide for energy consumption
savings. Pneumatic disc brakes are also
provided.
The auxiliary power circuit features Ni-Cad
batteries. A battery charger is included in the
auxiliary converter.
The electrical equipment, with the exception of
the main transformer and battery box, is located
above the underframe in the machine room. The
machine room features a central gangway. The
machine room is pressurised.
The traction motors are three phase
asynchronous motors of 1 MW continuous
rating. They are forced air ventilated.
4.1.2 Mechanical equipment
The locomotives are of a dual cab design for
operation from either end. Each cab features
two external access doors leading directly into it.
Controls have been laid out to be within easy
reach of the operators. Air conditioning was not
required for these locomotives.
From each of the cabs, an access door is
provided to the machine room. The body width
(3150 mm) makes full use of the wide loading
gauge, resuHing in excellent access to the
machine room equipment. The layout optimised
the weight distribution and the cable and
pipework routing.
The design of the carshell extensively utilised
FEA techniques. To achieve the light axle load
required as well as the high buff load (300
tonne), the principles of monocoque design
were used.
Two compressors mounted on the underframe
provide the compressed air required for braking.
20.4
Indian Railways Electric Locomotwes -
Supply and Transfer of Technology
These compressors are capable of delivering up
to 1500 11min.
The ventilation systems for the machine room
over-pressure, traction motor cooling and oil
coolers for the main transformer and main
converter feature a filter unit to protect the
electronics from dust. The filter units use
centrifugal nozzles.
4.1.3 Bogies
The bogie is a "flexifloaf' design based upon the
ICE vehicles. It was adapted to suit the 1676
mm track gauge requirements of IR and the
anticipated Indian track conditions.
Wheelset guidance in the longitudinal direction
is provided by simple, robust guide rods, and
laterally by virtue of the coiled primary springs.
Secondary suspension is provided by coil
springs, with the transmission of tractive and
braking loads by lOW-level push-pull rods that
minimise the inter-axle weight transfer.
To achieve a low unsprung mass, a number of
wheelset components (e.g. axle boxes, gear
case, and axle guide links) are made from a
high strength aluminium alloy.
Bogie frame mounted traction motors are
connected to the gearbox by a gear tooth
flexible coupler. The gearbox has a double
reduction and uses helical gears.
Tread dresser brake units are provided to
condition the wheels. Flange lubrication
equipment is also fitted.
4.2 Freight Locomotive (WAG9)
The salient features of the WAG9 freight
locomotives are shown in Figure 1. This vehicle
is of CoCo configuration and is capable of being
ballasted up to 135 tonne. A brief description of
the major features of the vehicles where they
differ from the WAP5 locomotives is outlined in
the following sections.
4.2.1 Electrical equipment
The electrical equipment is virtually identical
except that the hotel load winding in the main
transformer has been deleted. The traction
motors are of 850 kW continuous rating.
4.2.2 Mechanical equipment
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Adelaide, 21-23 May 2000
Neal lawson and David Gale
Daimler Chrysler Rail Systems (Australia) Ply Ud
The general layout of locomotives is essentially
identical, except for the repositioning of some
items in the machine room. This is partly due to
the requirement to be able to accommodate an
additional 12 tonnes of ballast to improve the
adhesion.
The carshell is substantially heavier.
4.2.3 Bogie
The CoCo design is based on the diesel-electric
bogie design of the Pakistan Railways HGMU-
30 locomotives.
Axle hung, nose-suspended traction motors,
interface to the pressed on main gear via a
pinion pressed into the traction motor shaft.
Pneumatic braking is made by a conventional
cast iron tread brake arrangement, featuring a
clasp mechanism.
Secondary and primary suspension is again
provided by coil springs. For the ballasted
condition of 135 tonnes, additional smaller
springs can be fitted inside the standard units.
The use of aluminium components was avoided
on this bogie.
5 PROJECT EXECUTION
The execution of this project was made
extremely difficult by the huge geographical,
time and cultural differences of the customer,
major consortium partners and suppliers. The
logistics involved with a project of this global
scale are complex. Some of the major hurdles
encountered are detailed below.
5.1 Interaction between Adtranz
Switzerland and Australia
The locomotive superstructure, including
complete cabs, was designed and built in
Australia. The secondary members required to
support the electrical equipment in the machine
room, underframe and cabs were fabricated into
the structure and so design interaction was
necessary between Australia and Switzerland.
This meant that apart from volumes of
correspondence, there were numerous meetings
held in Zurich. During construction of the first
carshell, a team visited from Switzerland and
conducted a trial fit out of the cabling and mock-
20.5
Indian Railways Electric Locomotives -
Supply and Transfer of Technology
ups of the electrical equipment. The end result
was that there were very few problems
experienced in Zurich when the locomotives
were finally assembled there.
Due to the extremely tight delivery schedule, the
first two and last WAP5 locomotives and the first
WAG9 locomotive were actually air freighted to
Zurich in the cargo hold of a Russian Antonov
aircraft. The remainder of the finished carshells
was transported from Australia to Zurich by sea
freight.
Once in Zurich, the locomotives were fitted out
with the electrical equipment and installed on
bogies that were shipped separately from
Australia. Initial commissioning was also carried
out at these facilities before shipping to India.
Australian personnel were based in Zurich to
assist in the final assembly and commissioning
of the vehicle.
The finished locomotives were transported by
road to Basel and from there by barge to
Rotterdam. The locomotives were then loaded
onto a ship bound for Calcutta.
5.2 Interaction between Adtranz Australia
and Germany.
The bogies were built in Australia under license
from Adtranz, Germany. The contractual
relationship was such that Germany was
responsible for the design and to transfer the
production technology to Australia, who would in
turn transfer it to IR.
This transfer of technology was well executed
with a full set of production drawings provided
from Germany in the English language. Visits by
personnel from Germany further assisted this
process.
The only real difficulty encountered was the
need to indigenise the information - a problem
again encountered when the TOT occurred to
IR. The materials and processes selected in
Germany were not readily available in Australia
and so a process of determining local
equivalents had to be undertaken. The extent of
this exercise was underestimated as it also
involved a sequence of approval by the licensor
in Germany, who often had to be educated in
how local standards were to be applied. Cultural
differences were a source of some strain in this
regard.
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Adelaide, 21-23 May 2000
Neal Lawson and David Gale
Daimler Chr ysler Rail Systems (Australia) Ply Ud
Figure 2: Adtranz built WAP5 on line in India
5.3 Interaction between Adtranz and Indian
Railways
During the design and build phase, regular
design review meetings were held with the
customer in Lucknow, India. At these meetings,
all design documentation was presented,
discussed and eventually approved.
During this phase of the supply contract, the
design approval documentation was also
supplied to the CLW Engineering Group so that
they could obtain an appreciation of the design
of the locomotives that they would eventually
manufacture. Furthermore, CLW representatives
participated in the numerous design reviews
held in Lucknow.
There was also a series of running tests to be
carried out before acceptance by IR. These
tests were carried out in difficult conditions
including temperatures up to 50°C and tropical
storms. The workshop facilities were not of the
same standard to which Adtranz staff were used
to and were shared by local wildlife. Sickness
was also a constant problem.
20.6
Indian Railways Electric Locomotives -
Supply and Transfer of Technology
6 TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY
Indian Railways purchased these locomotives
including full TOT to update their large fleet of
vehicles using out·dated technology. They
selected Adtranz to be the provider of these
services because of their extensive experience
in three-phase propulsion.
The TOT from Adtranz to Indian Railways was a
comprehensive program of training, technical
information, and collaboration to enable IR to
manufacture, test and commission these three­
phase state of the art locomotives wtth
microprocessor control. It involved the granting
of non-exclusive rights to IR to produce these
locomotives in India at a site to be determined.
The site selected by IR was Chtttaranjan
Locomotive Works.
6.1 Chittaranjan Locomotive Works
Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW) in West
Bengal was originally established in 1950 to
produce steam locomotives. Electric
locomotives were first produced in 1961. Since
then, over 2500 Electric locomotives have rolled
out of the factory. Diesel Hydraulic locomotives
have also been produced at CLW.
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Neal Lawson and David Gale
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The production capacity of CLW has grown from
60 to 150 locomotives per year since 1950.
There are plans to increase this capacity up to
an impressive 170 locomotives per year.
6.2 TOT Performance
6.2.1 Initial CLW visits
The initial visit of Adtranz staff to CLW was
made in November 1993. The result of this was
a preliminary report that identified some of the
investments and upgrades that CLW should
make to ensure a smooth transition from the
existing tap changer locomotives to the three­
phase locomotives. A large portion of the
available equipment dated back to the start of
the production of these locomotives.
A full survey was conducted in March 1995 with
full collaboration of CLW staff, with a
comprehensive report submitted to CLW on the
recommended improvements to the factory. The
following areas were particularly investigated:
1. Final Assembly of SKD/CKD locomotives
2. Material storage
3. Locomotive and Bogie fabrication
4. Pre-assembly manufacture
5. Traction Motor manufacture
6. Testing and Commissioning.
The resulting recommended changes included
investment in some machinery (e.g. welding
machines, painting equipment and electrical test
equipment), a complete re-Iayout of the existing
plant to ensure smooth workflow and a general
site clean up. Necessary jigs, fixtures and
tooling were also identified. Some areas where
final assembly was to occur were recommended
to have an access pit installed and a more
substantial improvement in the work
environment.
6.2.2 TOT during design, manufacture and
commissioning by Adtranz
During the design, manufacture and
commissioning phases, IR staff started the initial
process of TOT. IR design staff traveled to the
design offices in both Australia and Switzerland
to be trained in the design of locomotives.
Representatives of major sub-suppliers were
present to transfer some of their knowledge
also. Although there was no obligation for sub­
suppliers to transfer their production technology,
some IR staff were also taken to the factories of
these major sub-suppliers.
20.7
Indian Railways Electric Locomotives -
Supply and Transfer of Technology
IR production and testing staff were also present
at the manufacturing and commissioning sites in
Australia and Switzerland during this phase of
the project. When the SKD and CKD
locomotives were shipped to CLW, it was these
staff that assisted and received further training
during final assembly in their own factory.
In parallel to the TOT to IR staff, Adtranz also
transferred knowledge to Adtranz India staff so
that they could support the vehicles when they
arrived in India. This has been successful, with
Adtranz India staff still continuing to provide
warranty and other support for these vehicles in
running depots and at CLW.
Another important factor in the successful TOT
process was the "indigenisation" of material
during the design phase. Whenever possible
during the design approval, materials and
processes that were locally available were
selected in preference to those that were not.
There were some instances where this was not
possible due to contractual constraints in the
supply specification. During the TOT and build
for the first CLW built locomotive, some effort
was still involved in finding local substitutes for
these materials and processes. This task was
made a little easier as contractual restraints that
applied to Adtranz for locomotives of their
supply were relaxed for CLW where necessary.
During this phase, complete manufacturing
documentation was provided to CLW in the
areas of:
A. Locomotive body
B. Bogies
C. Traction motors
D. Main transformer
E. Power converters
F. Electronic and_ microprocessor control
equipment
G. Auxiliary converter
H. Locomotive assembly
I. Locomotive testing
K. System engineering
L. Others
This information took the form of production
drawings, work instructions, material
specifications, schedules, test procedures etc.
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Neal Lawson and David Gale Indian Railways Electric Locomotives -
Daimler Chrysler Rail Systems (Australia) Ply Ud Supply and Transfer of Technology

Figure 3 First WAG91ocomotive built at CLW

6.2.3 TOT during manufacture at CLW 6.3 Local Supply

During the build of the first WAG9, and currently
the WAP5, locomotives Adtranz staff were
present in CLW. Management at CLW had
embraced the recommendations of the 1995
report and great improvements had been made
in the factory. Investments had been made in
equipment as recommended.
Adtranz staff conducted structured training
courses in the facets of locomotive manufacture
selected by CLW management. The trainers
were then available on site to provide on the job
advice. Comments on product quality were
passed, but all care was taken to ensure that
CLW was responsible for their own
workmanship.
Full documentation for the build and
commissIoning were available at CLW and
updated as modifications were found to be
necessary on the in-service vehicles. Adtranz
assisted in the selection of local materials and
processes as described above, but IR maintains
responsibility for the as-built documentation for
their locomotives.
Another important aspect to the success of the
TOT is the selection, nurturing and TOT to key
suppliers. All major sub-suppliers have
established local manufacturing and/or support
companies wfthin India. Adtranz India is
producing the traction converters and other
equipment at their facilities in Bangalore. A local
manufacturer for the main transformer was also
selected and full documentation handed over.
CLW has capacity to produce traction motors in­
house. The technology for producing these was
also transferred to them.
Local manufacturers of minor equipment have
also been sourced. These local suppliers have
been crucial in minimising the cost to Adtranz of
its warranty obligations but more importantly, will
provide the same support to IR for the future.
6.4 Roll out ceremony and future
milestones
On the 14 November 1998, the first CLW built
WAG9 locomotive - christened the "NAVYUG"­
was inaugurated at a ceremony in the Works.
With this inauguration, IR has entered the
modern era of three-phase GTO traction
technology wfth microprocessor control. These
locomotives were the first to be produced in the

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Neal lawson and David Gale Indian Rai/ways Electric Locomotives -
Daimler Chrysler Rail Systems (Australia) Ply Ud Supply and Transier of Technology

January 2000. The first indigenous WAP5

locomotive will leave the works in the second
half of 2000. The achievement of these
milestones will further demonstrate the success
of the transfer of this technology to India.

Into the future, IR plans to also produce WAP5

locomotives capable of running up to 200 km/h.
Adtranz will again be involved in supporting IR
to achieve this goal.

7 CONCLUSIONS

The success of this project has shown that

projects on a global scale can be executed
despite geographical, time zone and cultural
differences. It demonstrates that regular and
effective communication and careful
coordination is vital.

The transfer of three-phase propulsion

technology was very successful and has
enabled Indian Railways to bring their available
Figure 4 CLW built WAG9 at its
traction technologies up to modern world
inauguration ceremony
standards.

developing countries featuring this state of the

art technology. A high-speed version of the
WAG9 (yVAP7) is due to roll out of CLW in

20.9 Conference on Railway Engineering

Adelaide. 21-23 May 2000