ELODIT - High-powered locomotive for non-electrified lines
Overview
Background & policy context:
One of the success conditions for modal shift from road to rail is that there should be a better "insertion" of freight trains on railway lines which also carry a significant volume of passenger trains. This particularly implies an increase in the speed and power of locomotives hauling freight trains, a reduction in pollution and lighter locomotive construction materials.
Several orientations of development can be envisaged for the future, notably a diesel solution or a turbine solution, each of which appear to have their advantages and drawbacks. The aim of this research is to select the most promising solution for a fast and powerful freight locomotive.
Objectives:
The objective of Elodit was to optimise the traction of a high-powered locomotive for freight trains on non-electrified railway lines. Given the goal of attracting new freight traffic to rail, the locomotive required should be of a higher specification than existing diesel locomotives.
The locomotive is planned as a Bo-Bo wheel arrangement, with 3000kW power at the wheels and 21 tonnes per axle. It is expected to cover 240 000 km per year and operate over 4000 hours per year.
Methodology:
Elodit is a comparative study between diesel motors and gas turbines. The analysis of the performances of these two engines is made according to a range of technical and commercial parameters: production costs and time, life-cycle cost, pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, impact on infrastructure, integration into train paths (acceleration), and potential markets in Europe and worldwide.
The analysis was carried out for a hypothetical mission profile as follows:
- trip from Rouen to Dijon (580km) with a 1600 tonne train;
- 240 000km per annum;
- 4 000 hours of operation per annum.
The conditions of use on the network will also be defined (operations, maintenance, ad-hoc infrastructure).
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