Siemens completes first Vectron Dual Mode locomotive
German technology supplier Siemens Mobility has completed the assembly of the first Vectron Dual Mode locomotive that is capable to use both electric energy and diesel fuel. The company plans to demonstrate the new type locomotive at the Transport & Logistic Trade Fair to be held in Munich in June.
The concept of the Dual Mode type was presented at the InnoTrans2018 Trade Fair in September 2018. Afterwards, the manufacturer started to implement the idea into reality. The first unit was produced at the company’s factory in Allach-Untermenzing, a northwest borough of Munich. “Our Vectron Dual Mode becomes reality! Only 6 months after we presented the concept at InnoTrans2018, the first completed locomotive is ready to leave our Munich-Allach factory in Germany,” Siemens Mobility reported.
Dual Mode features
“It unites all the advantages of diesel and electric (locomotive),” the producer shortly defined the main feature of the new locomotive. This type was developed primarily for freight operations on the German railway network. “Because Germany will continue to have many non-electrified sections of track for a long time to come, many diesel locomotives continue to operate under a contact line. This makes very little economic or ecological sense,” Siemens Mobility explained the reason to create the Dual Mode type.
Text continues below the picture.
Parts of Vectron Dual Mode locomotive, source: Siemens Mobility.
The new locomotive has a length of almost 20 metres, a 2,500-litre fuel tank and weighs 90 tonnes (when it is totally fueled). The vehicle is equipped with a diesel engine with a power 2,400 kilowatts. The traction power is 2,000 kilowatts while starting tractive effort is 300 kilonewtons. The axle load of the locomotive is 22.5 tonnes. The Dual Mode vehicle is capable to run on the railways with a gauge of 1,4355 millimetres.
Vectron types
Currently, Siemens Mobility produces three types of Vectron locomotives in accordance with the power supply system. The diesel type uses on the non-electrified lines, the AC type serves the lines electrified with alternating current, the DC type runs on the lines electrified with direct current. The multisystem locomotives are operated on the lines with various types of electrification. They are mostly used to transport goods between the countries with different voltage systems such as from Poland via Germany to the Netherlands.
Also read:
