Indian locomotive class WAG-9

Last updated

WAG-9
WAG9HC.jpg
CLW made WAG-9HC #39447 at Dankuni yard.
Type and origin
Power typeElectric
Builder
Build date1995-present
Total produced5638 as of November 2024
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 •  UIC Co′Co′
Gauge 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm)
Bogies Adtranz Fabricated Flexicoil IV
Wheel diameterNew: 1,092 mm (3 ft 7 in),
Half worn: 1,054 mm (3 ft 5+1⁄2 in)
Full worn: 1,016 mm (3 ft 4 in)
Wheelbase 15.7 m (51 ft 6 in)
Length20.562 m (67 ft 5+1⁄2 in)
Width3.152 m (10 ft 4+1⁄8 in)
Height4.525 m (14 ft 10+1⁄8 in)
Axle load WAG-9 : 20.5 tonnes (20.2 long tons; 22.6 short tons) WAG-9H/Hi/9i : 22.0 tonnes (21.7 long tons; 24.3 short tons)
Loco weightWAG-9 : 123 tonnes (121 long tons; 136 short tons)

WAG-9H/9Hi/9i/9HH : 132 tonnes (130 long tons; 146 short tons) WAG-9TWIN/EF12K:

264 tonnes (260 long tons; 291 short tons)

Contents

Electric system/s 25 kV 50 Hz AC Overhead
Current pickup(s) dual pantographs
Traction motors WAG-9/9H/9i : Adtranz 6FRA6068
MU working 2
Loco brake Air and Regenerative
Train brakes Air
Safety systemsSlip/slide control, Main overload relay, Over voltage relay, No volt protection, Vigilance Control Device, Fire Detection Equipment, Fire Extinguishers and Earth fault relay
Performance figures
Maximum speed100 km/h (62 mph)
Power outputWAG-9 Original : 6,120 hp (4,564 kW)

WAG-9HC : 6,120 hp (4,564 kW)

WAG-9HH/EF9K : 9,000 hp (6,711 kW)

WAG-9TWIN/EF12K : 12,000 hp (8,948 kW)
Tractive effort WAG-9 Starting Effort : 475 kN (107,000 lbf)

WAG-9H/HH Starting Effort : 510 kN (110,000 lbf)
WAG-9TWIN Starting Effort:1,040 kN (230,000 lbf)


Career
Operators Indian Railways
NumbersStarting from
  • 31000-31999, 32000-32999, 33000-33999, 38000+ & 51001+ CLW
  • 34001+ BHEL
  • 41000-41500 & 43000+ BLW
  • 41501+ PLW
LocaleAll Over India
DispositionActive

The Indian locomotive class WAG-9 is a class of 25 kV AC electric locomotives that was developed in 1995 by ABB for Indian Railways. The model name stands for broad gauge (W), AC Current (A), Goods traffic (G), 9th generation (9) locomotive. They entered service in 1996. A total of 5140 WAG-9 have been built at Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW), with more units being built at Banaras Locomotive Works (BLW), Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) and Patiala Locomotive Works (PLW). It was the most powerful freight locomotive in the Indian Railways fleet until the introduction of the WAG-12.

The WAG-9 is one of the most successful locomotives of Indian Railways,[ peacock prose ] serving freight trains since its introduction in 1995. A passenger variant of the WAG-9 was developed, namely the WAP-7 locomotive, by modifying the gear ratio to pull lighter loads at higher speeds. Nowadays,[ when? ] WAG-9 locomotives are commonly used to haul freight trains.

Introduction

The WAG-9 locomotive is referred to as the "Heavy Haul" freight locomotive of the Indian Railways (IR). It was conceived in response to the extreme growth in the rail freight transportation sector, which is considered to be of great importance to the growth of the economy of India. The need for more electrification and electric locomotives in India had increased. Around 60-65% of the freight haulage of the IR takes place on the electrified section of the Golden Quadrilateral (Indian Railways) and diagonals (which account for 25% of the route). These are very busy routes, so clearance is a necessity. Electrical powers give it a great sectional clearance ability. Thus, these locomotives are important for the Indian Railways.

These locomotives have entered the Western Railway zone of Mumbai. The first 22 units were imported from ABB. Of these, the first six were fully assembled and rest were in kit form. CLW started producing of WAG-9 traction motors on 1 November 1999. The units built by ABB have pantographs with two end horns while the CLW built units have pantographs with single end horns which are common in India. This class had a capacity to MU several units, but IR restricts them to two, because of dynamic loading restriction on most bridges. Regenerative brakes provide about 260 kN of braking effort.

The WAG-9H also has different application software than the WAG-9. The first WAG-9H was commissioned on 30 June 2000. The #30130 prototype was housed at Gomoh (GMO). This was then converted back to standard WAG-9 in 2002. This unit has a livery of twin white stripes on green, instead of yellow stripe on green, seen on the other WAG-9(x)s.

The WAG-9i was introduced in 2010, and was No. 31215. It was homed at the GMO shed. With IGBT, even if one traction motor failed, other traction motors can function with a total output of 5500 hp.

Newer WAG-9 units have "CLW Glorious 60 years" marked on their sides. Some WAG-9(x)s are fitted with a solid cowcatcher while others are fitted with grilled cowcatchers. Some have American style flasher lamps while others have Indian style flasher lamps. [1]

Newer versions of the WAG-9 feature full Insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) traction control; the debut model was the WAG-9 31248. The class as a whole is denoted by the WAG-9i prefix in its model number, although there is a technical variant of this class named WAG-9H, with the "H" meaning "Heavy".

The WAG-9H/9Hi locomotives are the second heaviest in regular service in India (after the WAG-12), the only freight-dedicated three-phase AC locomotives in the country, and the only electric locomotives in India fitted with IGBT. They are also the freight locomotives with the highest operational speed in India.

It is similar to the WAP-7 class locomotive but features a different gear ratio, which makes it suitable for heavy freight operations. In November 1998, the Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW) started producing these with indigenous components. The first of which, named Navyug (New Era), was produced on 14 November 1998. Like the WAP-5 units, the WAG-9 has GTO thyristor converters and three-phase asynchronous motors.

Variants

The following variants are built from the WAG-9:

Operations

WAG-9 Locomotive at Vangaon Railway station, pulling an automobile carrier rake. Wag-9 Locomotive at Vangaon Railway station.jpg
WAG-9 Locomotive at Vangaon Railway station, pulling an automobile carrier rake.
Bhilai EF12K (WAG-9 Twins) on duty Bhilai EF12K (WAG-9 Twins) on duty..jpg
Bhilai EF12K (WAG-9 Twins) on duty
Tughlakabad EF9K (WAG-9HH) "Nava Utkarsh" on duty. EF9K Locomotive "Nava Utkarsh" on duty..jpg
Tughlakabad EF9K (WAG-9HH) "Nava Utkarsh" on duty.

WAG-9 has quickly become one of the important locos in the Indian railways. With its higher power, this locomotive has replaced WAG-7 which was the main electric loco before WAG-9's arrival. Applications where twin WAG-7s were required are now handled by a single WAG-9. This includes both leading a long consist and for banking operations. The regenerative braking capabilities of WAG-9 has also helped reduce the electricity consumption. The original WAG-9 had some wheel slippage incidents while hauling heavy load. This was rectified through the introduction of WAG-9H and subsequently using WAG-9i. This has significantly reduced the issue that were associated with the original version. Nowadays, it is quite common to see special passenger trains hauled by WAG-9 locomotives.

New Katni Jn. WAG-9HC hauling Asansol-Hatia Express New Katni Jn. WAG-9HC hauling 13513 Asansol-Hatia Express.webp
New Katni Jn. WAG-9HC hauling Asansol-Hatia Express

Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW) turned out its first 9,000 hp WAG-9 freight locomotive on 31 March 2019, the last day of the financial year. This 9,000 hp version of the WAG-9H has been classified by IR as WAG-9 HH. The first H stands for higher axle load and the second H stands for the higher power rating. The class has been allocated a block of serial numbers starting with 90001, the number of the first unit. The decision to upgrade the power output of the WAG-9 was taken to partly meet the demands of the upcoming electrified Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC). The upgraded locomotive class will also augment hauling capacity on the existing network of the Indian Railways. [2]

Locomotive sheds

ZoneNameShed CodeQuantityIntroduction Year
WAG-9WAG-9HEF9KEF12K
Central Railway Bhusawal BSLL262013
Daund DNDE412024
Ajni AQE2342000
Pune PADX222022
Eastern Railway Asansol ASNL1722020
East Central Railway Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya DDUE2592020
Gomoh GMOE12071997
Barauni BJUE1782019
Patratu PTRX51272020
East Coast Railway Visakhapatnam WATE2062014
Visakhapatnam (D) WATD2252021
Angul ANGE862023
Northern Railway Ghaziabad GZBE302023
Ludhiana LDHE2052015
Khanalampura KJGE1292020
Tughlakabad TKDD922022
North Central Railway Kanpur CNBE2282016
Jhansi JHSE162024
North Eastern Railway Gonda GDDX352021
Saiyedpur Bhitri SYHE402022
Izzatnagar IZND212023
Northeast Frontier Railway Malda Town MLDD672021
Siliguri SGUD132022
New Guwahati NGCD122023
North Western Railway Bhagat Ki Kothi BGKD972023
Southern Railway Arakkonam AJJE332020
South Central Railway Vijayawada BZAE962021
Lallaguda LGDE52752007
Kazipet KZJL31952013
Gooty GYD1002019
Vijayawada BZAD202023
Moula Ali MLYD442023
South Eastern Railway Tatanagar TATE1952010
Bondamunda BNDL2452016
Bokaro Steel City BKSE2292019
Rourkela ROUE2332019
South East Central Railway Bhilai BIAE268102009
Bilaspur BSPE2292020
South Western Railway Krishnarajapuram KJMD712020
Hubli UBLD862022
Western Railway Vadodara BRCE392024
Valsad BLEE1402020
Vatva VTAD872023
Sabarmati SBT552024
West Central Railway Tughlakabad TKDE21130552008
New Katni Jn. NKJE1962017
Itarsi ETE1552020
Total8454895510
Total Locomotives Active as of November 2024 [3] 5638

Performance

Two WAG-9 class units can haul a load of 4,500 tonnes (4,400 long tons; 5,000 short tons) on grades of 1 in 60 (1.67%). The WAG-9H was expected to haul 58 BOXN wagons, i.e.,4,700 tonnes (4,600 long tons; 5,200 short tons), without multiple units on grades of 1 in 150 (0.67%). The locomotive can run even in 100% humidity, or in deserts, where there is high saturation of conductive particles. For shunting up to 15 km/h (9.3 mph), it can haul 7,500 tonnes (7,400 long tons; 8,300 short tons) on grades of 1 in 1000 (0.1%) or less. The atmosphere may be humid and salty. Regenerative braking will provide braking force of no less than 260 kN (58,000 lbf) at 10–62 km/h (6.2–38.5 mph) and closer to 260 kN (58,000 lbf) at higher speeds. Below is the capacity of the WAG-9 while hauling BOX wagons (in tonnes): [4]

Grade\km/hStart2030405060708090100
Level6000+6000+6000+6000+6000+6000+6000+6000+6000+6000+
1 in 5006000+6000+6000+6000+6000+6000+6000+498541503500
1 in 2005060506050605060506040453325278023652040
1 in 1504250425041654080398532002640222018951640
1 in 1003205291028702825277522401855156513451165
1 in 50182014551445143514201440945795680590

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian locomotive class WAG-1</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian locomotive class WAG-4</span> Indian train passenger and freight locomotive/engine class

The Indian locomotive class WAG-4 is a class of 25 kV AC electric locomotives that was manufactured by CLW in the late 1960s for Indian Railways. The model name stands for broad gauge (W), AC Current (A), Goods traffic (G) engine, 1st (1). A total of 186 WAG-4 locomotives were built by The European Group 50 Hz Group/European Group/50 Cycles Group (consortium) between 1967 and 1969. They entered service in 1967.

References

  1. ↑ "Study Material".
  2. ↑ "New 9,000 hp WAG-9 HH Locomotive Rolls Out of CLW". RailPost.in - Indian Railways News & Analysis. 2 April 2019. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  3. ↑ "e-Locos".
  4. ↑ "Trainweb".
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