2008-10-22 - ABB is supplying 240 high-performance traction transformers for the world’s fastest electrically powered sleeper trains that will connect China’s booming cities - cost effectively and with superior passenger comfort - at speeds of up to 200 km/h.
By
ABB Communications
Traction transformers are the single most expensive outsourced item of equipment on an electric locomotive. They are a key component in enabling trains to perform efficiently, comfortably and economically at very high speeds.
The global leader
ABB is the world’s leading manufacturer of traction transformers with a market share of more than 50 percent. Customers include all the leading train manufacturers and rail operators – Alstom, Bombardier, Siemens, Stadler and China’s Ministry of Railways.
This particular order is from Bombardier Transportation. The 240 traction transformers will power 60 electric multiple unit (EMU) trainsets for China’s high-speed passenger network that links the country’s major cities with high-speed rail connections.
ABB is the world’s leading manufacturer of traction transformers with a market share of more than 50 percent.
Each of the 430-meter trainsets – almost half a kilometer in length - will consist of 16 cars, powered by four high-performance ABB traction transformers.
Forty of the trainsets will be designed for overnight service and fitted with sleeping berth interiors. Capable of speeds of up to 200 kilometers per hour (km/h) the sleepers will be the fastest EMU sleeper cars in the world.
Traction transformers feed electric power to the train from the overhead power lines. They step-down the voltage to the required level for the traction motors and the numerous and increasingly complex auxiliary power systems in the train (heating, ventilation, air conditioning, automatic doors, showers in the sleeper cars, restaurant kitchens etc).
The reliability and availability of power products on trains is fundamental to train performance and passenger comfort.
ABB traction transformers are compact and lightweight to meet the demand for space efficiency that is vital in trains, especially in high-speed EMUs.
They can be mounted on the roof, under the floor, or vertically on the side of the locomotive. Their low weight enables the train to use the electric power more efficiently and achieve higher levels of acceleration. Low noise emissions and an impeccable safety record are other key attributes.
ABB’s under-floor transformers – selected by Bombardier for the sleeper trains – lower the train’s center of gravity which increases passenger comfort when the train is traveling at high speed.
ABB has a comprehensive portfolio of power products for both rolling stock and fixed trackside installations. In 2007 ABB received orders worth more than $700 million from the global rail market for power components and solutions.