On May 9, the first domestic new intelligent heavy-haul electric locomotive jointly developed by Shuohuang Railway and CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive Co., Ltd. officially rolled off the production line in Zhuzhou City, Hunan Province, marking another major technological breakthrough in China's heavy-haul railway transportation equipment and the successful strategic transformation from regular heavy-haul locomotives to smart heavy-haul locomotives.
Independently developed in China and set to serve the Shuohuang Railway, the second largest channel of west-to-east coal transportation in China, the new smart heavy-haul electric locomotive represents a new generation of prime type electric locomotives. This eight-axle "iron giant" is the world's largest power permanent magnet direct-drive heavy-haul freight electric locomotive, with a maximum traction power of up to 10,400 kW per locomotive. Compared with traditional electric locomotives with the same number of axles, a single locomotive's one-way transportation capacity can be increased by nearly 1,200 tonnes, and the comprehensive annual transportation volume can be increased by nearly 280,000 tonnes.
Featuring "three major global pioneering technologies", the locomotive applies the world's first high-power SiC inverter, which can adapt to more complex lines and power grid conditions and meet the demand for smoother locomotive traction; it is equipped with the world's first high-torque permanent magnet traction motor, which has higher transmission efficiency and is more environmentally friendly with a world-leading level in technology; and it adopts the world's first large traction force direct-drive bogie as the bearing, with smaller impact force between wheels and rails during motion and superior dynamic performance. In addition, the locomotive is equipped with many intelligent auxiliary devices. The "cloud-edge-end" collaborative control intelligent network technology enables intelligent maintenance work to be completed with "one click", and the unmanned automatic driving system achieves 100% automatic control. Moreover, the AI-powered voice interaction system can control the auxiliary equipment in the driver's cab, reducing the workload of drivers, and providing a more intelligent experience for both drivers and crew members.
