Diesel Locomotive Works : Embracing innovative TractionTechnologies

DLW is one of the leading manufacturers of Diesel electric

locomotives in the world. It has been producing diesel electric

locomotives with variety of designs and technical

configurations to suit traffic needs of Indian Railways and other non-railway

customers in India and abroad.

The beginning ............ and the journey

Foundation stone of Diesel Locomotive Works (DLW) was laid on 23rd

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

the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) of USA, was commissioned on 3 rd

January 1964 by Late Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri, who later became the second

Prime Minister of independent India.

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Important milestones in the journey of DLW:

April’ 1956 : Foundation stone laid by the 1st President of India Late Dr. Rajendra Prasad

January’ 1964 : First BG locomotive WDM2 commissioned by Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri

Feb’ 1975 : First BG shunting locomotive (WDS6) turned out

March’ 1976 : First export Loco turned out for Tanzania

March’ 2002 : First High Horse Power (HHP) locomotive WDG4 turned out

2010 : Capacity enhanced to 200 loco/per (installed capacity 140 loco/year).

October’ 2010 : First Dual Cab WDP4D loco turned out

February 2012 : First 5500 HP freight loco WDG5 turned out

July 2013 : 1000th HHP locomotive turned out

March 2014 : Highest ever out turn of 304 locomotives

December 2014 : Commencement of work of capacity enhancement (200 to 250 loco) by Hon’ble Prime Minister

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

locomotives with technical upgrades in the recent years.

Some of the new features introduced by DLW in high horse power (HHP)

locomotives with the objective of improving energy efficiency, operational safety

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

Display system and Defogger (heated windshield) glasses.

The road ahead entails adoption of new traction technologies involved in

manufacture of hydrogen based Fuel Cell Hybrid locomotives, Dual Mode

locomotives, 6000 HP AC-AC diesel electric locomotives, 3000 HP AC-AC (Meter

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

generation locomotive designs are summarized below:

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Hotel Load on HHP Locomotives

The electrical power generated by a locomotive f or purposes other than propulsion

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

EOG power cars. 4

Diesel Engine + Alternator

Traction ControlConvertor

Hotel Load Inverter & Brake Chopper

Electrical ControlCabinets

Loco Control Computer

Traction Motors

Hotel Load Trains

DLW has so far turned out ten locomotives (WDP4B) equipped with Hotel Load

feature which are running successfully in i) Lucknow–Raipur Garib Rath ii)

Lucknow-Bhopal Garib Rath iii) Anand Vihar Terminus-Kathgodam Shatabdi and iv)

Jodhpur-Jaipur Intercity Express trains.

Since, power cars can be eliminated from the trains hauled with locomotives

equipped with Hotel Load feature, it has the following advantages:

Additional revenue as power cars can be replaced with passenger coaches

Reduced noise due to elimination of power cars

Fuel saving on account of elimination of power cars (Northern Railway reported a

saving of 0.91 litres of diesel per KM run during Nov’14)

Use of braking energy for feeding hotel load (Regenerative Braking)

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

engine is in shutdown condition.

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

turned out in future.

Considering difficulty of accommodating the APU unit of ALCO locomotive design,

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

located in the Radiator Compartment of the HHP locomotive.

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The benefits achieved with this system on a locomotive are:

Saving of about 10 litres of fuel/hour/loco. It can be further increased with

improved loco pilots awareness, training etc.

Environment friendly due to reduction in emissions (green house gases).

Extended main engine life.

Distributed Power Control System (DPCS)

Distributed power control system (DPCS) is a proven control and communication

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:

Multiple operation of locomotives with wireless technology.

Elimination of excessive load on coupler due to Multiple Unit (MU) application.

Faster braking due to multi-point (distributed) brake application.

Lesser starting time due to faster brake release.

Reduced man power requirement.

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

210 km between Viramgam Jn and Chirai stations on Western Railway.

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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

locomotive has become essential. The maximum achievable speed of a standard

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

starting tractive effort of 6000 HP locomotive will be 58T as compared to 54T of a

4500 HP WDG4D locomotive. Railway Board has sanctioned manufacture of

sixteen 6000 HP diesel electric locomotives. DLW has already finalized design

requirements, in consultation with Railway Board and RDSO for manufacture of

these high horse power locomotives.

Introduction of 6000 HP AC-AC Diesel Electric locomotive on Indian Railway will

open a new window for adoption of new traction technologies by IR. Manufacture of

this state-of-the-art locomotive will expose DLW engineers to domain knowledge in

technically advanced system design and system integration. Some of the salient

features of this locomotive include emission compliance (environment friendly),

improved crew comfort, technically advanced man-machine control interfaces,

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Noise Vibration and Harshness (NVH) compliance and other state-of-the-art

features.

Hydrogen Fuel Cell Hybrid locomotive

Hydrogen powered fuel cells are an emerging technology and have the potential to

replace diesel propulsion onboard locomotives. The inherent technological

advantages like zero carbon emission make this technology attractive for addressing

climate change. Considering these advantages, Railway Board has sanctioned

manufacture of 2 hybrid locomotives having capability to feed the traction power

requirement directly from either the hydrogen fuel cell stack or battery bank onboard

or both as per the instantaneous power requirement. DLW is working on manufacture

of these locomotives for shunting application.

Hydrogen is used as energy source in a fuel cell hybrid locomotive. Use of hydrogen

eliminates dependence on fossil fuel and thereby imports. It is a zero-emissions

vehicle with zero carbon in the energy cycle.

India will be the third country in the world to introduce fuel cell technology in the

field of traction. The locomotive will be a technology demonstrator for creating

awareness in establishing use of environmentally sustainable green technology in

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

power capability of 700 KW.

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Diesel Locomotive Works is committed to adopt new technologies,

manufacture new design locomotives, improve quality of high horse power

locomotives and innovate to achieve new standards of crew comfort and

safety in the coming future.

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