The Indian locomotive class WAG-9 is a class of 25
kV AC electric locomotives that was developed in 1995 by
ABB Group
ABB Ltd. is a Swedish- Swiss multinational corporation headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland. The company was formed in 1988 when Sweden's Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget (ASEA) and Switzerland's Brown, Boveri & Cie merged to crea ...
(ABB) for
Indian Railways
Indian Railways (IR) is a statutory body under the ownership of Ministry of Railways, Government of India that operates India's national railway system. It manages the fourth largest national railway system in the world by size, with a tot ...
. 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 3651 WAG-9 have been built at
Chittaranjan Locomotive Works
Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW) is an electric locomotive manufacturer based in India. The works are located at Chittaranjan in the Asansol Sadar subdivision of West Bengal, with an ancillary unit in Dankuni. The main unit is 32 km f ...
(CLW), with more units being built at
Banaras Locomotive Works
The Banaras Locomotive Works (BLW) (formerly Diesel Locomotive Works (DLW)) in Varanasi, India, is a production unit of Indian Railways. DLW stopped manufacturing diesel locomotives in March 2019 and was renamed BLW in Oct 2020.
History
Founde ...
(BLW),
Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited
Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) is an Indian central public sector undertaking. It is under the ownership of Ministry of Heavy Industries, Government of India. It is based in New Delhi, India. Established in 1956, BHEL is India' ...
(BHEL) and
Patiala Locomotive Works
Patiala Locomotive Works (PLW), (formerly Diesel-Loco Modernization Works (DLMW)), is located in Patiala in the Indian state of Punjab. It was set up in 1981 to extend the service life of diesel Locomotives of the Indian Railways and raise the ...
(PLW). It was the most powerful freight locomotive of its fleet until the formal introduction of the
WAG-12
The Indian locomotive class WAG-12B is a class of 25 kV AC electric locomotives that was developed in 2017 by Alstom with technological collaboration with Indian Railways. The model name stands for broad gauge (W), Alternating Current (AC), Go ...
.
The WAG-9 is one of the most successful locomotives of Indian Railways serving freight trains for over 26 years. A passenger variant of the WAG-9 was developed namely the
WAP-7
The Indian locomotive class WAP-7 is a class of 25 Volt, kV Alternating current, AC Electric locomotive, electric locomotives that was developed in 1999 by Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW) for Indian Railways. The model name stands for 5 ft 6 ...
locomotive by modifying the
gear ratio
A gear train is a mechanical system formed by mounting gears on a frame so the teeth of the gears engage.
Gear teeth are designed to ensure the pitch circles of engaging gears roll on each other without slipping, providing a smooth transmission ...
to pull lighter loads at higher speeds. Nowadays, It is a common locomotive used in freight trains.
Introduction
The WAG-9
locomotive
A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the Power (physics), motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, Motor coach (rail), motor ...
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 economy of India has transitioned from a mixed planned economy to a mixed middle-income developing social market economy with notable state participation in strategic sectors.
*
*
*
* It is the world's fifth-largest economy by nomin ...
. The need for more
electrification
Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source.
The broad meaning of the term, such as in the history of technology, economic histor ...
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
The Western Railway (abbreviated WR) is one of the 19 zones of Indian Railways and is among the busiest railway networks in India, headquartered at Mumbai, Maharashtra. The major railway routes of Indian Railways which come under Western Railw ...
of
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
. The first 22 units were imported from
ABB
ABB Ltd. is a Swedish- Swiss multinational corporation headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland. The company was formed in 1988 when Sweden's Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget (ASEA) and Switzerland's Brown, Boveri & Cie merged to crea ...
. 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
Gomoh (better known as Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Junction Gomoh) is a census town in Topchanchi CD Block Dhanbad Sadar subdivision of Dhanbad district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. It has a major railway junction, which was renamed Netaj ...
(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 #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. http://elocos.railnet.gov.in/Study_Material/TSD_3Ph.pdf.
Newer versions of the WAG-9 feature full
Insulated-gate bipolar transistor
An insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) is a three-terminal power semiconductor device primarily used as an electronic switch, which, as it was developed, came to combine high efficiency and fast switching. It consists of four alternating lay ...
(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 Indian locomotive class WAG-12B is a class of 25 kV AC electric locomotives that was developed in 2017 by Alstom with technological collaboration with Indian Railways. The model name stands for broad gauge (W), Alternating Current (AC), Go ...
), 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
The Indian locomotive class WAP-7 is a class of 25 Volt, kV Alternating current, AC Electric locomotive, electric locomotives that was developed in 1999 by Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW) for Indian Railways. The model name stands for 5 ft 6 ...
class locomotive but features a different
gear ratio
A gear train is a mechanical system formed by mounting gears on a frame so the teeth of the gears engage.
Gear teeth are designed to ensure the pitch circles of engaging gears roll on each other without slipping, providing a smooth transmission ...
, which makes it suitable for heavy freight operations. In November 1998, the
Chittaranjan Locomotive Works
Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW) is an electric locomotive manufacturer based in India. The works are located at Chittaranjan in the Asansol Sadar subdivision of West Bengal, with an ancillary unit in Dankuni. The main unit is 32 km f ...
(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
A thyristor () is a solid-state semiconductor device with four layers of alternating P- and N-type materials used for high-power applications. It acts exclusively as a bistable switch (or a latch), conducting when the gate receives a current ...
converters and three-phase asynchronous motors.
Variants
The following variants are built from the WAG-9:
* WAG-9: Original version
* WAG-9H: Heavy version with additional ballast, total weight: 132 t
* WAG-9i: Version with
IGBT
An insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) is a three-terminal power semiconductor device primarily used as an electronic switch, which, as it was developed, came to combine high efficiency and fast switching. It consists of four alternating lay ...
Technology
* WAG-9Hi: Version with additional ballast and
IGBT
An insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) is a three-terminal power semiconductor device primarily used as an electronic switch, which, as it was developed, came to combine high efficiency and fast switching. It consists of four alternating lay ...
Technology
* WAG-9HC: Heavy version with Conventional Brake Rigging
* WAG-9HH: Heavy Version with High Horsepower 9000 hp variant
Operations
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.
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.
Locomotive sheds
Performance
Two WAG-9 class units can haul a load of on
grades
Grade most commonly refers to:
* Grade (education), a measurement of a student's performance
* Grade, the number of the year a student has reached in a given educational stage
* Grade (slope), the steepness of a slope
Grade or grading may also r ...
of 1 in 60 (1.67%). The WAG-9H was expected to haul 58 BOXN wagons, i.e.,, 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 , it can haul 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 at and closer to at higher speeds. Below is the capacity of the WAG-9 while hauling BOX wagons (in tonnes}):
See also
*
Indian Railways
Indian Railways (IR) is a statutory body under the ownership of Ministry of Railways, Government of India that operates India's national railway system. It manages the fourth largest national railway system in the world by size, with a tot ...
*
Locomotives of India
The Indian Railways primarily operates fleet of electric and diesel locomotives, along with several compressed natural gas (CNG) locomotives. Steam locomotives are operated on a few World Heritage Sites and also run occasionally as heritag ...
*
Rail transport in India
Rail transport in India is an important mode of conveyance for people and goods in India. Indian Railways (IR) is the primary operator of rail operations throughout the country. IR is a state-owned organisation of the Ministry of Railways, whi ...
References
External links
SpecificationsIndia railway fan clubIR WAG-9 @ TrainspoIT Locomotive Numbers
{{Broad gauge locomotives of India , state=collapsed
5 ft 6 in gauge locomotives
25 kV AC locomotives
Co-Co locomotives
Electric locomotives of India
Railway locomotives introduced in 1996
thumb
The thumb is the first digit of the hand, next to the index finger. When a person is standing in the medical anatomical position (where the palm is facing to the front), the thumb is the outermost digit. The Medical Latin English noun for thumb ...
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