ON June 18 at Alstom Transporte’s Albuixech plant outside Valencia, Israel Railways Director General Amos Uzani took delivery of the first of eight 3000hp Co-Co GA-3000 diesel-electric locomotives. Expected to leave Spain for Israel within a month, the freight locomotive was to join the first seven of ten 3000hp Bo-Bo units also built at Albuixech, already in service on passenger trains (RG 7.98 p439).

These 18 locomotives for Israel are the first members of a modular family for main line passenger and freight applications from 1500hp to 4500 hp. Locomotive Group Sales & Business Development Director Antonio Oporto says that Alstom has developed this range to meet the specialised service requirements of its varied customers, while offering lower whole life-cycle costs and a smaller price tag. When GA-3000 production for Israel is complete, Albuixech will in November begin building 30 Class 67 units for English Welsh & Scottish Railway and 36 single-cab locos for Virgin CrossCountry of Great Britain (Table I). The Locomotive Group’s Belfort factory in France will build 30 AD 32C units for Syria, the first 20 of 100 AD 43C locomotives under a technology-transfer deal with Iran and 10 AD 32Cs for Sri Lanka (Table II).

Modular construction

The main line family is based on a full-width monocoque body in high-tensile steel, built in units 1m long. At each end a cab is bolted on or elastically mounted for improved insulation from noise and vibration. All piping and cabling is laid in the body floor before standardised equipment modules are installed according to customer requirements, including the engine, electrical cabinet, brake equipment and roof modules containing inertial filters, radiators and dynamic brake equipment.

For passenger applications up to 200 km/h, Alstom has developed a twin-axle bogie that has frame-mounted traction motors for an unsprung mass no greater than 2 tonnes per axle including brake discs, and a locomotive axleweight of between 18 and 25 tonnes. Axleweight of Co-Co designs is between 13 and 25 tonnes, with bogies designed to minimise weight transfer in freight service.

Power options

In the new main line family, Oporto says that Alstom is willing to install the engine the customer prefers, including Caterpillar or MTU designs. Locomotives currently on order have engines from either Alstom Ruston Diesels of Great Britain or General Motors of the USA; formerly known as Macosa, Alstom’s Valencia operation has been a GM licensee since the 1960s.

Alstom offers the option of an AC/DC transmission, which it says is ’well known by customers’ and ’still cost effective’, or an AC/AC drive that is the ’innovative option with growing acceptance’, offering significant advantages in terms of size, weight and ease of maintenance. For the AC/DC designs ordered so far, GM engines have been chosen with traction and control equipment from the same supplier. AC/AC models feature Ruston engines and Alstom traction equipment, with Agate control and one IGBT inverter per bogie. An AC/AC configuration with a GM engine, Alstom drive and GM or Alstom control equipment is also feasible. With the exception of the Class 67 for EWS, all locomotives currently on order have dynamic braking.

Standard shunters

For shunting applications from 600 to 1500hp Alstom is offering the GA-DE 900 AS Bo-Bo centre-cab design, of underframe and hood construction with an AC/AC microprocessor-controlled drive and an axleload of between 14 and 22·5 tonnes.

A fleet of 40 Class Am841 units were delivered to Swiss Federal Railways in 1996, each weighing 72 tonnes, rated at 870 kW and powered by an MTU 8V396TB14 engine. Albuixech has built two for Mexican infrastructure maintenance contractor GEO Railmex, which were also on display on June 18, and a further three units are in production for Israel Railways. o

Reader Enquiry Numbers

Alstom Transport Locomotive Group 101

General Motors Locomotive Group 102

Alstom Transport Ruston Diesels 103

CAPTION: Later this year Alstom will start work on the first of 30 Class 67 Bo-Bos for 200 km/h parcels services operated by English Welsh &Scottish Railway (below). These will be followed by 36 single-cab derivatives to work push-pull passenger services for Virgin CrossCountry (bottom)

CAPTION: The first of eight Co-Co GA-300 locomotives (left) was handed over to Israel Railways on June 18. IR has ordered three GA-DE 900 AS shunters similar to those built for GEO Railmex (below)

Alstom’s modular diesel locos

TABLE: Table I. GM-engined GA-3000 locos with AC/DC transmissions

Customer IR IR EWS1 VCC1

No ordered 10 8 30 36

First delivery 1998 1998 1999 1999

Wheel arrangement Bo-Bo Co-Co Bo-Bo Bo-Bo

Weight tonnes 90 114 88 88

Maximum speed km/h 140 110 200 200

Nominal power rating hp 3000 3000 3000 3000

Continuous tractive effort kN 158 306 922 922

Engine 12N710G3B 12N710G3B-EC

No of cylinders 12 12 12 12

UIC rated engine output hp 3200 3200 3200 3200

Table II. Ruston-engined locos with ONIX AC/AC transmissions

Customer Syrian Iranian Islamic Sri Lanka Railways Rep Railways Railways

Class AD 32C AD 43C AD 32C

No ordered 30 100 10

First delivery 1999 1999 2000

Wheel arrangement Co-Co Co-Co Co-Co

Weight tonnes 120 120 100

Maximum speed km/h 120 140 110

Nominal power rating hp 2940 3915 2540

Continuous tractive effort kN 350 412 260 at 16 km/h at 19 km/h at 18 km/h

Engine 12RK215T 16RK215T 12RK215

No of cylinders 12 16 12

UIC rated engine output hp 3220 4300 3220

1. Both 300 kW head-end power. VCC build is single cab with1 900 kW dynamic brake2. At 75 km/h

CAPTION: The frame of a shunter and a GA-3000 shell for Israel take shape inside Albuixech’s locomotive assembly building

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