Transmashholding & Alstom Presented to RZD the First Passenger Dual-Voltage Locomotive

JSC Transmashholding and Alstom have submitted to their customer JSC Russian Railways the first electric locomotive EP20. Submission Ceremony took place at Novocherkassk Electric Locomotive Building Plant (NEVZ, an entity of JSC Transmashholding), a manufacturing site of EP20.

The Ceremony was attended by Russian Prime Minster Dmitry Medvedev, Senior Vice-President and Design Director of JSC Russian Railways Valentin Gapanovitch, Governor of Rostov Region Vasily Golubev, Transmashholding President Andrey Bokarev, Alstom President Patrick Kron and Transmashholding General Director Andrey Andreev.

EP20 locomotive introduces the first joint product line of Transmashholding and Alstom developed by specialists of TRTrans engineering center, a joint venture company of Transmashholding and ALSTOM Transport. The JV was established on a fifty-fifty basis to develop new Rolling Stock products for railways.

EP20 is the first Russian locomotive that may haul passenger trains reaching 200 kph. Locomotive major advantage is that it is of dual-voltage type. The locomotive may be operated on both dc and ac lines. This advantage helps to avoid locomotive changing for the routes crossing ac and dc line sections. That means that there is no more necessity to use two different voltage locomotives as well as time and efforts of railway personnel to change a locomotive. The locomotive is fitted with asynchronous traction that makes it possible to get several time reduction of locomotive maintenance and to have significantly lower power consumption.

As per arrangements, 36 locomotives will be delivered to JSC RZD from 2012 to 2013. These machines will be used in future for passenger traffic between Moscow and Sochi, including Winter Olympic Games of 2014.

The Contract for the delivery of 200 new generation dual-voltage passenger locomotives EP20 from 2012 through 2020 was signed by RZD President Vladimir Yakunin and TMH Board Chairman Andrey Bokarev on May 27, 2010 in Sochi at the V International Business Forum Strategic partnership 1520.

Second joint project of TMH and Alstom is mainline freight ac locomotive with asynchronous traction motors 2ES5. Similar locomotive have been also never produced in Russia before. First 2ES5 locomotive was shown to Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev during his visit to NEVZ.

Source : TMH Press Centre