The WAG-9 is a type of electric locomotive used in India. It is the most powerful freight locomotive in the Indian Railways' fleet. It is very similar to the WAP-7; the only major difference being the 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 one, 'Navyug' (translated, 'New Era'), was flagged off on November 14. Like the WAP-5 units, they have GTO thyristor converters and three-phase asynchronous motors.
Newer versions starting from the WAG-9 31248 feature full IGBT traction control. The class is named WAG-9i. There is a technical variant of this class named WAG-9H. The 'H' means Heavy. Another variant includes the WAG-9Hi which seems to be a combination of the above two.
The WAG-9H/9Hi locomotives are the second heaviest in regular service in India. These are the only freight dedicated three-phase AC locomotives in India. Also, the WAG-9i/9Hi are the only electric locomotives in India fitted with Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT). They are also the freight locomotives with highest operational speed in India. The latest WAG 9 31086 is based in GOMOH(GMO) and has a unique red colored livery with G-9 written in large retro fonts.
Video Indian locomotive class WAG-9
Introduction
This locomotive is referred to as the "Heavy Haul" freight locomotive of the Indian Railways (IR). This locomotive was conceived owing to the extreme growth in the rail freight transportation sector. The growth in this sector is considered to be of great importance in the growth of the economy of India. This need had arisen the need for more electrification and electric locomotives in India. Around 60-65% of the freight haulage of IR takes place on the electrified section of the Golden Quadrilateral (Indian Railways) & diagonals (which account for 25% of the route). These are very busy routes, so clearance is a necessity. This power 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 Adtranz (ABB). Of these, the first six were fully assembled and rest were in kit form. Again in the kit form, seven were completely knocked down and rest partially assembled. CLW started producing these traction motors on 11/1/1999. The units built by ABB have double-pan pantographs while the CLW built units have single pan pantographs 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 to the WAG-9. The first WAG-9H was commissioned on 30 June 2000. The #30130 prototype was homed 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 #31215 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 50 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. If you want additional information about this loco try this link http://elocos.railnet.gov.in/Study_Material/TSD_3Ph.pdf
Maps Indian locomotive class WAG-9
Technical specifications
The WAG-9 technical specifications are:
Sheds Holding WAG-9
- Gomoh (GMO)
- Ajni (AJNI)
- Kazipet (KZJ)
- Lallaguda (LGD)
- Bhilai (BIA)
- Tata Nagar (TATA)
- Tughlakabad (TKD)
- Kalyan (KYN)
- Visakhapatnam (VSKP)
- Vadodara (BRC)
- Ludhiana (LDH)
- Kanpur (CNB)
- New Katni (NKJ)
- Bhusaval (BSL)
- Bondamunda (BNDM)
Named Locos
- WAG-9 31022 Pavan
- WAG-9 31023 Navjyoti
- WAG-9 31024 Navdisha
- WAG-9 31030 Navshakti
- WAG-9 31033 Navoday
- WAG-9 31058 Nav Ghanshakti
- WAG-9 31086 Dr Silver
- WAG-9 31100 Navshatak
- WAG-9 31112,31121 Navpragati
- WAG-9 31162 Nav Shakti
- WAG-9 31215,31255 Naveen
- WAG-9 31475 Ashok
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}):
See also
- History of rail transport in India
- Indian Railways
- Locomotives of India
- Rail transport in India
References
External links
- Specifications
- India railway fan club
- IR WAG-9 @ Trainspo
- IT Locomotive Numbers
Source of article : Wikipedia
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