China-developed electric and combustion dual-power trains started service on a national railway between Santiago and Curicó in Chile on Jan 19. It marked operation of the first dual-power trains China has exported overseas.
Developed by CRRC Qingdao Sifang Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of CRRC Corporation Limited (CRRC), the dual-power trains have a maximum operation speed of 160 kilometers per hour and are the fastest of theirs kind in Chile and South America.
A China-made electric and combustion dual-power train starts operation on the national railway between Santiago and Curicó in Chile on Jan 19. [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]
According to Wang Jingjun, director designer of CRRC Qingdao Sifang Co., Ltd., the recently-operated trains have outstanding performances in speed, technology, passenger capacity and travel experience for passengers.
They are equipped with internal combustion and grid-based power supply systems, and can switch power systems without stopping during operation, which improves their operational applicability and reliability. An advanced electromagnetic rail brake technology was also adopted on the trains, improving their braking capacity and shortening their braking distance.
Each of the trains is capable of carrying as many as 630 passengers. Special devices are installed at the gates to make it safer when passengers are getting-on and off the trains. It’s worth noting that facilities like LED information screens, WiFi, charging sockets, and air conditioning systems with a dehumidification function, as well as catering carriages, wheel chair areas and multi-functional accessible toilets are installed on the train, making it comfortable and easy for all passengers.
Passengers can watch the LED information screen and surf the Internet on the China-made dual-power train. [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]
CRRC Qingdao Sifang Co., Ltd. inked an agreement in 2020 with the Chilean State Railway to provide six power-combustion dual-power trains with a designed speed of 160 kilometers per hour. The trains are intended to support upgrading of the country’s railway passenger transport service. It is the first dual-power train project in Chile and the first time the China-developed dual-power trains have been exported overseas.
So far, two trains have been put into service and the other four are scheduled to start service by the end of June this year.
By that time, the trains are expected to have effectively improved modernization of Chile’s state-owned railway, greatly increased passenger transport capacity, shortened travel time between regions along the railway and improved travel experience for local people.
(Executive editor: Xie Yunxiao)
