Interview: Franz Hopf on equipping the new DEHLo/Toshiba HDB 800 shunting locomotives with Voith gear units.

Voith equips 100 DEHLo/Toshiba HDB 800 shunting locomotives for Deutsche Bahn with 400 Voith gear units. Using classic Cannonbox design, these diesel-electric hybrid locomotives combine proven drive technology with modern requirements for environmental friendliness and efficiency. With this project, the experts at Voith Turbo are demonstrating that they have the know-how in gear units for all kinds of rail vehicles.

We spoke to Franz Hopf, Senior Sales Manager Rail at Voith, about this topic ...

Can you please give us an overview of the project?

We are delighted to have been awarded by Toshiba Railway Europe GmbH for the Deutsche Bahn project and to have the opportunity to supply 400 gear units for 100 shunting locomotives. These DEHLo/Toshiba HDB 800 locomotives are diesel-electric hybrid locomotives that can be powered by both diesel engines and rechargeable SCiB batteries. Each locomotive has two bogies with four Bo-Bo type axles, with each axle having its own motor and gear unit.

What are the most important technical features of the gear units developed by Voith?

For Toshiba's shunting locomotives, we use classic Cannonbox design, which is known for its robustness. Being specially designed for the requirements of slow driving locomotives, this design is ideal for locomotives with a speed of up to 120 km/h . Together with the motor, each gear unit weighs around 2.5 tonnes per axle and can handle a short-circuit torque of 17,400 Nm.

“Our aim is to offer a proven, cost-effective and low-maintenance solution that meets the high requirements of Toshiba and Deutsche Bahn.”

What are the main advantages of the gear units for this project?

On the one hand, our gear units enable particularly simple assembly, which considerably simplifies and speeds up the installation process. Secondly, Cannonbox design gear units are used, which are based on a concept that has been tried and tested over many years. In addition, the gear units are designed for minimum oil consumption and long maintenance cycles. With the delivery of 400 gear units for 100 locomotives, we are proving that our expertise includes all kinds of rail vehicles – e.g. for Locomotives, High Speed Trains, Metros, EMU′s, Light Rail vehicles and special vehicles as well.

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