OREANDA-NEWS.  The Minister of Railways Shri Mallikarjun Kharge flagged off the first ever Dual Cab 4500 HP Freight Diesel locomotive, ‘Vijay’ from Diesel Locomotive Works (DLW), Varanasi, a production unit of Indian Railways, today i.e. 6th November 2013. Before flagging-off the flower bedecked locomotive decorated in resplendent colour scheme, he performed rituals along with Shri Arunendra Kumar, Chairman, Railway Board, Shri B.P.Khare, General Manager and other railway officers.

Expressing happiness over the performance of DLW, the Railway Minister said that it is not only in the area of production that DLW is creating new milestones. Keeping in mind the requirement of Zonal Railways, DLW has also delivered In the area of technology upgradation and designing of new variants of locomotives. Be it Dual cab passenger locomotive WDP4D, Hotel load locomotive, 5500 Horse power locomotive WDG5 and now the first ever Dual cab diesel freight locomotive WDG4D, DLW has always lived-up to it's promise. The very fact that the design of WDG4D is a completely indigenous effort of DLW and RDSO. On this occasion, Hon’ble Minster announced the stoppage of Swatantrata Senani Express at Bhulanpur Rly. Station, Sub-way at DLW Admn. Building Railway Crossing and opening of a PRS at DLW with cash transaction as well as ` 20 lakh group award for DLW employees.

On this occasion, expressing his view Shri Arunendra Kumar, Chairman, Railway Board said that DLW has not only increased its production in large but also developed latest state-of-the-art technologies. Building of this WDG4D High Horse Power freight locomotive is a wonderful breakthrough not only for DLW but for Indian Railways and the country also.

Welcoming the Hon’ble Minister along with guests, officers and employees General Manager Shri B.P.Khare focussed upon the achievements of DLW in locomotive production and future prospects.

Indian Railways has steadily been moving towards higher speeds in freight operations. With the freight trains touching 100 kmph and future strategies aiming for even higher speeds, there is a need to upgrade the existing levels of crew comfort and visibility in freight locomotives. Indian Railways has till now been working with the single cab versions of diesel-electric freight locomotives. These locomotives have been very effective in the sub 100 kmph operations. However with the increasing horsepower levels over the years, the locomotive lengths have increased and their profiles have become wider. The increase in length and envelope of the locomotive affect visibility and therefore there is a need to introduce dual cabs on freight locomotives as well.

‘Vijay’ the dual cab freight WDG4D is a trailblazer. It is the first dual cab diesel electric freight locomotive to be built by Indian Railways. The locomotive has been designed on a 21.7 metre platform to accommodate two cabs and this is about two meters longer than the single cab version. The cabs have full width front view. Besides the obvious visibility advantages, the locomotive also has several features for crew comfort. Recognizing the fact that a comfortable work area reduces fatigue and increases alertness, Vijay has been provided with air conditioned cabs. The AC unit is designed to heat up the cab during winters while cooling it during summers, thus maintaining a comfortable ambient for efficient working. The loco also has TFT screen based integrated driver display. This feature which is similar to the one used in the aero planes allows the operating parameters to be displayed on a single screen. Using icons it naturally provides focus to the more important parameters. The system also provides alarm levels for the ease of the crew. The display system naturally assists the crew through fault diagnostics. The system reduces eye fatigue, improves reliability and improves crew response.

The locomotive has been provided with an ergonomically designed control stand and seat. The seat which has been based on the excavator design (which needs 360 deg view and operability) has been provided with movement on three axis for operational flexibility. Besides it has tilting back with lumbar support and breathing upholstery. The locomotive has also been provided with airplane type task light and automotive type auto wash wipers.

Vijay has been built around the 4500HP 710 G3B engine with inverter controlled three phase traction motor drive. The inverter control uses the state of the art IGBT technology. This is the technology being used worldwide by the leading manufacturers i.e. GE, ABB, Alsthom etc. The locomotive is provided with the latest Computerised Control Brake system which is the world standard. The brake system uses the latest in the electronics and communication to improve response times and to improve reliability.

The locomotive has been designed to implement the Indian Railways’ efforts at increasing the speed of loaded trains to 100kmph. It can run at 105 kmph and can be used to haul passenger trains in emergencies. The locomotive has been designed to haul as much as the existing workhorse WDG4. The cost of the locomotive is approximately Rupees 14.7 crore as compared to 14.38 crore for the single cab version. Since the future would belong to dual cab freight locomotives, this model has been designed to retain as many elements as possible of the passenger dual cab being built by DLW. This standardization in the manufacturing elements will enable IR to easily move into series production after successful prototype trials.