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Zefiro is a family of high-speed passenger trains designed by
Bombardier Transportation Bombardier Transportation was a Canadian-German rolling stock and rail transport manufacturer, headquartered in Berlin, Germany. It was one of the world's largest companies in the rail vehicle and equipment manufacturing and servicing industry ...
(now
Alstom Alstom SA is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer operating worldwide in rail transport markets, active in the fields of passenger transportation, signalling, and locomotives, with products including the AGV, TGV, Eurostar, Avelia ...
) whose variants have top operating speeds of between ; and . The family consists of: the ''Zefiro 250'', which has a top operating speed of and is for the moment wholly manufactured in China; the ''Zefiro 300'', which has a top operating speed of but design speed up to ; and the ''Zefiro 380'', which has a top operating speed of and design speed up to .


Background

Bombardier Transportation and its predecessor companies produced a variety of high-speed trainsets,High speed from Bombardier – ZEFIRO
(presentation) Flavio Canetti, Bombardier Transportation via ''uic.org''
as part collaborations with other conglomerates, such as the
Intercity-Express The Intercity Express (commonly known as ICE ()) is a system of high-speed trains predominantly running in Germany. It also serves some destinations in Austria, Denmark (ceased in 2017 but planned to resume in 2022), France, Belgium, Switzerla ...
family of locomotivesWill Zefiro take high-speed forward? After years of collaboration in high-speed trains, Bombardier will soon launch its own dedicated train called Zefiro, and the company has high expectations of this exciting new design
International Railway Journal, March 2008, via ''findarticles.com''
(Germany),
AVE Class 102 The Renfe Class 102 or S-102S-102 denotes 'Serie 102 de Renfe', the 1xx series is used for fixed passenger high speed electric trains (nicknamed "Pato" in Spanish, because of its nose that looks like the beak of a duck) is a high-speed train u ...
, RENFE class 130 (Spain), ICN (Switzerland), the
Acela express The ''Acela'' ( ; originally the ''Acela Express'' until September 2019) is Amtrak's flagship service along the Northeast Corridor (NEC) in the Northeastern United States between Washington, D.C. and Boston via 13 intermediate stops, includ ...
(USA), and parts of the
TGV Duplex The TGV Duplex is a French high-speed train of the TGV family, manufactured by Alstom, and operated by the French national railway company SNCF. It is unique among TGV trains in that it features bi-level carriages. The Duplex inaugurated the t ...
,
Eurostar Eurostar is an international high-speed rail service connecting the United Kingdom with France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Most Eurostar trains travel through the Channel Tunnel between the United Kingdom and France, owned and operated sep ...
,
Thalys Thalys (French: ) is a French-Belgian high-speed train operator originally built around the LGV Nord high-speed line between Paris and Brussels. This track is shared with Eurostar trains that go from Paris, Brussels or Amsterdam to London via Li ...
, and
ETR 500 ETR 500 ('' Elettro Treno Rapido 500'') is a family of Italian high-speed trains built by AnsaldoBreda and introduced in 1993. Designed under the aegis of the Ferrovie dello Stato (FS), it is now operated by Trenitalia on RFI tracks. History ...
trainsets (Europe various). Additionally the company has independently produced high-speed trainsets for specific markets, such as
CRH1 The CRH1 EMU, also known as Hexie (simplified Chinese: 和谐号; traditional Chinese: 和諧號; pinyin: Héxié Hào; literally: "Harmony") is a high-speed train operated by China Railway and built by a joint venture between Bombardier Transp ...
, "Xinshisu" (China),
X 2000 X 2000, also called SJ X2 or simply as X2, is an electric tilting train operated by SJ in Sweden. It was constructed by Kalmar Verkstad in Kalmar, Sweden (prior to the company being bought by Adtranz in 1996) and launched in 1990 as a ...
, Regina (Sweden) and Class 71 (Norway). In November 2005 Bombardier launched its general solution, the ''Zefiro'' single-deck train for high-speed rail lines, available in 4-, 8-,12- or 16-car sets, capable of being configured for a variety of supply voltages,ZEFIRO high speed trains Project Overview
''bombardier.com''
and produced in either standard () or a wide () widths.Bombardier launches high-speed train
International Railway Journal, December 2005, via ''findarticles.com''
In December 2021
Alstom Alstom SA is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer operating worldwide in rail transport markets, active in the fields of passenger transportation, signalling, and locomotives, with products including the AGV, TGV, Eurostar, Avelia ...
announced plans to transfer the intellectual property and business activities associated with the Zefiro V300 to
Hitachi Rail () is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It is the parent company of the Hitachi Group (''Hitachi Gurūpu'') and had formed part of the Nissan ''zaibatsu'' and later DKB Group and Fuyo ...
. This was a condition of Alstom's acquisition of Bombardier put in place by the
European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...
in order to remain compliant with
EU competition law European competition law is the competition law in use within the European Union. It promotes the maintenance of competition within the European Single Market by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies to ensure that they do not crea ...
. The transaction was completed on 1 July 2022.


Design

The Zefiro trainset is a conventional (non-inter-coach articulated) single-deck electrical-multiple-unit high-speed train. It consists of powered and unpowered cars, with motorized power cars at either end. Car bodies are constructed of aluminium, with the exception of the wide-bodied Zefiro 250 trains, which have stainless steel bodies. They have customisable open-plan layouts.Backgrounder: Bombardier Zefiro: The next step in very high-speed rail technology
''transport.bombardier.com''
Trains are made up of 4-car units, each of which contains a transformer and its own power supply. Typically, the end cars of each 4-car unit have powered bogies, with the two middle cars being unpowered. The pantograph is located on one of the unpowered cars. The specifications for all current designs (2009) describe asynchronous three-phase motors, with forced air cooling. However, Bombardier also offers the option of permanent-magnet synchronous motors (which it groups in its "ECO4" energy-saving technologies), which were tested on modified Regina trains in 2008 on the "Green Train" ( sv, Gröna Tåget).


Variants


Zefiro 250

The first variant of the Zefiro concept to be produced was a series of twenty 16-car EMU sleeper trains produced by Bombardier's joint venture Sifang Power (Qingdao) Transportation (BSP), which were delivered from 2009. These trains were the first high-speed train licensed to be manufactured in China as well as the fastest sleeper trains in the world. China Railways designated them as CRH1E. Starting acceleration is greater than , with a 16-car train weight of and an axle load of , bogie type is that found on the Regina with wheelbase with 63% of axles motorized. In July 2010, the Ministry of Railways ordered 40 more 8-car CRH1E Zefiro high-speed trains from the Sifang (Qingdao) Transportation Ltd joint venture. In September 2012, based on a modified contract with Bombardier, the MOR ordered an additional 106 8-car trains, 60 of which are to be a new variant, designated the Zefiro 250NG. This variant is an evolution of the original, and will utilize different materials in order to provide weight savings and more efficient operation. In 2018, the Swedish regional transport agency
Västtrafik Västtrafik is the agency responsible for public transport services involving buses, ferries, trains, and the Gothenburg tram network in the county of Västra Götaland, Sweden (plus Kungsbacka Municipality). It was established with the Västra G ...
ordered 45 Bombardier Zefiro for delivery in 2021. They will be designed and approved for 200 km/h. They have 3 cars and are 80 meters long. See also the
Zefiro Express Zefiro is a family of High-speed rail, high-speed passenger trains designed by Bombardier Transportation (now Alstom) whose variants have top operating speeds of between ; and . The family consists of: the ''Zefiro 250'', which has a top operati ...
section below. In 2021, the Swedish train operator SJ decided to buy 25 new Bombardier Zefiro, expected to come into service in 2026. The top speed is 250 kph.


Zefiro 300

The Zefiro 300 is intended for European operations, with a UIC
profile Profile or profiles may refer to: Art, entertainment and media Music * ''Profile'' (Jan Akkerman album), 1973 * ''Profile'' (Githead album), 2005 * ''Profile'' (Pat Donohue album), 2005 * ''Profile'' (Duke Pearson album), 1959 * '' ''Profi ...
, and capable of being fitted for use on all four European electrification schemes (1.5 & 3 kV DC, 15 & 25 kV AC). Bogies are FLEXX type with a wheelbase, 50% of which are motorized. Starting acceleration is greater than . It has an axle load of approximately . Two 8-car sets can be joined together to form one longer train. A variant of the Zefiro 300 was offered by Bombardier in association with
AnsaldoBreda Hitachi Rail Italy S.p.A. is a multinational rolling stock manufacturer company based in Pistoia, Italy. Formerly AnsaldoBreda S.p.A., a subsidiary of state-owned Finmeccanica, the company was sold in 2015 to Hitachi Rail of Japan. After the dea ...
to
Trenitalia Trenitalia is the primary train operator in Italy. A subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, itself owned by the Italian government, the company was established in 2000 following a European Union directive on the deregulation of rail transp ...
, the Italian national railway service, as part of a bid for 50 new high-speed trainsets in 2010. Trenitalia selected this bid as the winner on 5 August 2010. These entered service in 2015 and are designated ETR400 - Frecciarossa 1000. An evolution of the Zefiro 300 platform was also offered by a joint venture between Bombardier (later Alstom) and
Hitachi Rail () is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It is the parent company of the Hitachi Group (''Hitachi Gurūpu'') and had formed part of the Nissan ''zaibatsu'' and later DKB Group and Fuyo ...
for the
HS2 rolling stock The HS2 rolling stock are trains for the under-construction High Speed 2 (HS2) high-speed rail line in the United Kingdom. There will be two types of trains with both being able to run at the top operating speed of on the HS2 line. The initia ...
tender for its first phase, for which it was awarded the contract for 54 trainsets.


Zefiro 380

In September 2009, Bombardier announced an order for eighty Zefiro 380 high-speed trains by the
Chinese Ministry of Railways Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
(MOR) to be produced at Bombardier's joint venture Sifang (Qingdao) Transportation Ltd. The order of twenty 8-car sets and sixty 16-car sets was estimated to be worth 27.4 billion
RMB The renminbi (; symbol: ¥; ISO code: CNY; abbreviation: RMB) is the official currency of the People's Republic of China and one of the world's most traded currencies, ranking as the fifth most traded currency in the world as of April 2022. ...
(approx €2.7 billion or $4 billion). The value of Bombardier's share is estimated at €1.3 billion. Bombardier Sifang Wins Contract to Build 80 Very High Speed Trains for China
Market Wire, September 2009 via ''findarticles.com''
Bombardier Sifang Wins Contract to Build 80 Very High Speed Trains for China
September 28, 2009 , press release ''bombardier.com''
Under China Railways' use these trains have been designated CRH1C (8-car set) and CRH1D (16-car set).The New High Speed Superpower
''www.eurotrib.com''
which was in December 2010 revised to CRH380C and CRH380CL and once again to
CRH380D The CRH1 EMU, also known as Hexie (simplified Chinese: 和谐号; traditional Chinese: 和諧號; pinyin: Héxié Hào; literally: "Harmony") is a high-speed train operated by China Railway and built by a joint venture between Bombardier Transp ...
(8-car set) & CRH380DL (16-car set) according to the new numbering system. As of September 2012, the order has been amended to include only seventy 8-car sets, designated as the CRH380D. Orders for the 16-car DL sets were converted to D sets in late 2011. All the 85 trainsets have been delivered and are currently operated by Shanghai Railway Bureau & Chengdu Railway Bureau.


Zefiro Express

Swedish regional transport authority
Västtrafik Västtrafik is the agency responsible for public transport services involving buses, ferries, trains, and the Gothenburg tram network in the county of Västra Götaland, Sweden (plus Kungsbacka Municipality). It was established with the Västra G ...
ordered 40 new trains (originally designated during tendering as EMU200, now designated as X80) in 2018, later increased to 45 trains, of a new model capable of 200 km/h. They have three cars and are around 80 meters long. First delivery was planned at end of 2021, but the coronavirus pandemic has delayed the production and test runs of the new trains. Västtrafik now expects that the first train set will arrive in Västerås in April 2022, and that another four train sets will be delivered to Sweden during the spring. The first vehicles are expected to be operating in the traffic in spring 2024 The trains are designed for the colder weather conditions under which the fleet will operate, including temperatures as low as -40 degrees Celsius and snow drifts up to 80cm deep. They are equipped with a winter package including an uprated propulsion system, a single-axle drive and enhanced slip-slide regulation. The bodyshells were manufactured by Bombardier Sifang (Qingdao) Transportation Ltd in China with final fit-out of all other components performed at the Hennigsdorf works in Germany. The trains have been thoroughly temperature tested already, and will be tested further in Sweden winter 2022.


See also

*
China Railway CRH1 The CRH1 EMU, also known as Hexie (simplified Chinese: 和谐号; traditional Chinese: 和諧號; pinyin: Héxié Hào; literally: "Harmony") is a high-speed train operated by China Railway and built by a joint venture between Bombardier Transpo ...
- Class designation of China railways high-speed trains of Bombardier design *
Siemens Velaro Siemens Velaro is a family of high-speed electric multiple unit trains built by Siemens and used in Germany, Belgium, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Spain, China, Russia, and Turkey. The Velaro is based on the ICE 3M/F high-speed ...
-competitor of similar design. *
Alstom AGV The AGV (acronym for French: ''Automotrice à grande vitesse''; lit. "high-speed railcar") is a standard gauge, high-speed, electric multiple-unit train designed and built by Alstom. Alstom offers the AGV in configurations from seven to fourt ...
-competitor of similar design. * Alstom
New Pendolino The New Pendolino is a class of high-speed tilting trains built by Alstom Ferroviaria ( Fiat Ferroviaria) for Trenitalia and Cisalpino. It is derived from a model developed for the Chinese operator Changchun Railway Company, and subsequently dev ...
- competitor of similar design *
List of high-speed trains The following is a list of high-speed trains that have been, are, or will be in commercial service. A high-speed train is generally defined as one which operates at or over in regular passenger service, with a high level of service, and often ...


References


External links


Bombardier Zefiro
Bombardier Zefiro site {{Swedish railway stock Bombardier Transportation multiple units High-speed trains of China High-speed trains AnsaldoBreda multiple units 3000 V DC multiple units 15 kV AC multiple units 25 kV AC multiple units Passenger trains running at least at 250 km/h in commercial operations 1500 V DC multiple units of France