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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