As fuel prices know a constant increase, the need to dispose of systems that reduce fuel consumption is essential. One of the simplest means of reducing the fuel consumption of rolling stock fleets is to stop the engine of locomotives when they are not in use.
To boost efficiency, any system for stopping the locomotive has to eliminate all obstacles and enable the locomotive crew to immediately start up the locomotive when necessary. To that end, Vossloh Locomotives equips its own locomotives with an automatic start-up system for diesel engines. This system stops the engine in long idle times and starts the pre-heater to maintain the ideal temperature of the engine and to keep it ready to start. “We are dealing with the development and installation of modules, such as the energy storage system and the automatic start-stop system which reduce the operation time of the diesel engine and expands the maintenance intervals for the new family of locomotives. We have installed adapted software on our locomotives in order to reduce load peaks (VED – Vossloh Eco Drive)”, declared Andreas Hopmann, Managing Director, Vossloh Locomotives GmbH.
Mainly concerned about the development of a new family of reliable and efficient shunting locomotives, to be exploited at minimum costs, Vossloh Locomotives prioritizes the installation of new components aimed at reducing maintenance costs. Vossloh’s locomotives have a maintenance monitoring system with remote diagnosis (VSMS – Vossloh Rail Vehicle Management System).
This provides continuous fault diagnosis for locomotives in the field and optimisation of the locomotive. “For the deve-lopment of the DE fleet, the power electronics were developed in-house and the modular construction is in line with our maintenance philosophy: replacement of modules, which can then be overhauled”, said Andreas Hopmann.
One of the companies that have aligned to the UIC standards on the modernisation of shunting locomotives is the Croatian company TZV Gredelj. For increasing the life expectancy of a vehicle and cost-efficiency, part of the company’s locomotives are equipped with the SAPAZ system (automatic diesel engine start and stop). “The implementation of this system will significantly reduce the number of in-use hours of the diesel engine, fuel-costs, engine oil consumption and maintenance costs. The purpose of the modernisation was to expand the life cycle of the locomotives ensuring an efficient and reliable operation, at low exploitation and maintenance costs. With the installation of new and modern equipments, the upgraded locomotives the level of new and modern locomotives in terms of technical, economic, environment protection and safety indicators with significantly lower financial investments”, declared Ivan Tolic, Chairman of the Board.
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