For China, this order is a milestone in the country’s continuously growing export business.
In January 2010, the association of southern Chinese rail vehicle manufacturers China South Locomotive & Rolling Stock (CSR), which also includes Puzhen Rolling Stock, received an official contract from SNCFT Tunisian State Railways for the delivery of 20 diesel railcars.
For the first time, CSR is thus exporting diesel-driven regional trains abroad. Voith Turbo will supply 42 RailPacks with T212bre turbo transmission, SK/KE 485 final drives, roof-mounted cooling systems and cardan shafts, as well as Schaku couplers for the project. Each vehicle features two Voith-Powerpacks rated at 530kw to ensure reliable drive power. SNCFT keeps two further Voith-Powerpacks for fast maintenance service.
The entire production of the vehicles takes place in Nanjing in China. The first prototype railcar is scheduled for testing in Tunisia in the middle of 2011. Voith will therefore deliver the first Voith-Powerpacks to China in March 2011.
Puzhen intends to complete the delivery of all vehicles to Tunisia by 2012, where they will enter service around the capital Tunis on two different routes.
Through the application of a special technical solution, the cooling systems of the Voith-Powerpacks are being noise-optimized and designed for external temperatures of 50°C. Since Tunisia runs both standard gauge
(1 435 mm) and narrow gauge (1 000 mm) lines, SNCFT has ordered the railcars in two variations.
To meet both conditions, only the bogies had to be adapted. Voith Turbo merely had to adjust the ratio of the final drives to the varying speeds. Twelve diesel railcars will be in service on the standard gauge route at 160km/h, another eight vehicles have been configured to the meter-gauge with a speed of 130km/h.
Voith Turbo, the specialist for hydrodynamic drive, coupling and braking systems for road, rail and industrial applications, as well as for ship propulsion systems, is a group division of Voith.
Voith is setting the standard in the paper, energy, mobility, and service markets. Established on 1 January 1867, Voith is now one of the largest family-owned businesses in Europe, with 39,000 employees, €5.1 billion in sales, and over 280 locations worldwide. Voith is an official partner of the initiative ‘Germany – land of ideas.’