Indian locomotive class WAP-7
Encyclopedia
WAP 7 is a high speed locomotive
indigenously developed by Chittaranjan Locomotive Works. It is capable of hauling trains at speeds ranging between 140 and 160 km per hour and is now largely used by Northern Railways
(NR), South Central Railways (SCR), South Western Railway (SWR) and Southern Railways (SR).
freight locomotive with modified gear ratios and is set to replace the fleet of WAP 4
's, the most widely used passenger locomotive today. The process will be a very slow one however, with WAP-4s still being produced and the production of WAP-7's increasing at a slow pace.
and the Shatabdi Express
apart from other regular mail/express trains. It also regularly hauls other trains like the Nizamuddin-Chennai, Nizamuddin-Bangalore, New Delhi-Sealdah and the New Delhi - Mumbai Rajdhani Expresses.
Currently a 6000 hp version with IGBT traction is under development by Chittaranjan Locomotive Works.
The most unique feature of this locomotive is that it eliminates the need to have separate DG sets for air-conditioning in long distance trains hence providing huge savings on maintenance and running costs. This technology is called HOG or "Head On Generation" where the loco transfers electric power from its pantograph to the coaches.
A 24-coach (1500t) passenger rake can be accelerated to 110 km/h in 240 seconds (over 4.7 km) by a WAP-7; to 120 km/h in 304 sec. (6.7 km); and to 130 km/h in 394 sec. (9.9 km).
Around 100 of these locomotives have been put to service as of early 2011.
The locomotive is expected to in use in the Mumbai
area of Western Railway by the end of December 2011 or the start of January 2012 and in the Mumbai area of Central Railway by January 2013.
Malfunction of the undergear of the locomotive could also be a reason. The driver of the Kalka Mail said he saw the engine shaking.
A post-accident diagnostic revealed that the first axle (leading) of the locomotive registered a jerk and the fourth axle (trailing bogie) showed loss of contact of the wheel with the track.
The locomotive in question (30221) has been re-railed and is undergoing fault diagnostics and repairs.
And Many More
Locomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
indigenously developed by Chittaranjan Locomotive Works. It is capable of hauling trains at speeds ranging between 140 and 160 km per hour and is now largely used by Northern Railways
Northern Railway (India)
The Northern Railways is one of the 16 zones and the northernmost zone of the Indian Railways. Its headquarters is in Delhi at New Delhi Railway Station....
(NR), South Central Railways (SCR), South Western Railway (SWR) and Southern Railways (SR).
Locations
The current locomotive sheds which house this locomotive are:- Ghaziabad (Code:GZB)
- GomohGomohGomoh is a census town in Dhanbad district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. It is a major railway junction situated on the Grand Chord Line under Dhanbad division of the East Central Railway...
(Code:GMO) - LallagudaLallaguda≥Lallaguda is a suburb in Secunderabad, India. It is close to Malkajgiri. It is 7 km away from the city centre. This area is covered with railway quarters. Lallaguda is divided into south and North Lallaguda by the railway track dividing it...
(Code:LGD). - AjniAjniAjni is small railway station in vicinity of Nagpur in Maharashtra State of India.It is situated at a distance of about 2.8 km fromNagpur Railway Station. There are plans to develop it as a terminus alternative to Nagpur...
(Code:AJNI) - Howrah (Code:HWH)
Similarity with WAG 9
The WAP-7 is actually a modified version of the WAG 9Indian locomotive class WAG-9
WAG-9 is the name of a type of electric locomotive used in India. Homed mainly at Gomoh, Ajni,Lallaguda,Tughlakabad and Bhilai, it is currently the most powerful locomotive in Indian Railways' fleet. It is very similar to the class WAP-7; The only difference being the gear ratio which makes it...
freight locomotive with modified gear ratios and is set to replace the fleet of WAP 4
Indian locomotive class WAP-4
WAP-4 is one of the most important electric locomotives used in India. It is a very powerful class capable of hauling 26 coaches at a speed of 140 km/h...
's, the most widely used passenger locomotive today. The process will be a very slow one however, with WAP-4s still being produced and the production of WAP-7's increasing at a slow pace.
Performance
With a maximum speed rating of 180 km/h (IR restricts it to 145 km/hr), the WAP-7 boasts of the most phenomenal acceleration figures while hauling mail/express trains. The WAP-7 can also haul loads of 24-26 passenger coaches (1430-1550t) at 110+ km/h per hour. It is also known to haul 16 heavyweight Air Conditioned coaches (1120t) in 1:40 inclines single-handedly. At a trial conducted by Indian Railways, it clocked a speed of 177 km/h. It is the most successful passenger locomotive in the Indian Railways portfolio after the WAP-4. It is used to haul premium trains like the Rajdhani ExpressRajdhani Express
Rajdhani Express is a passenger train service in India connecting New Delhi with other important destinations, especially state capitals. Rajdhani means "The Capital" in Hindi.- History :...
and the Shatabdi Express
Shatabdi Express
Shatabdi Express trains are a series of fast passenger trains operated by Indian Railways to connect Metro cities with other cities important for tourism, pilgrimage or business...
apart from other regular mail/express trains. It also regularly hauls other trains like the Nizamuddin-Chennai, Nizamuddin-Bangalore, New Delhi-Sealdah and the New Delhi - Mumbai Rajdhani Expresses.
Currently a 6000 hp version with IGBT traction is under development by Chittaranjan Locomotive Works.
The most unique feature of this locomotive is that it eliminates the need to have separate DG sets for air-conditioning in long distance trains hence providing huge savings on maintenance and running costs. This technology is called HOG or "Head On Generation" where the loco transfers electric power from its pantograph to the coaches.
A 24-coach (1500t) passenger rake can be accelerated to 110 km/h in 240 seconds (over 4.7 km) by a WAP-7; to 120 km/h in 304 sec. (6.7 km); and to 130 km/h in 394 sec. (9.9 km).
Around 100 of these locomotives have been put to service as of early 2011.
The locomotive is expected to in use in the Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
area of Western Railway by the end of December 2011 or the start of January 2012 and in the Mumbai area of Central Railway by January 2013.
Technical specifications
| Manufacturers | Chittaranjan Locomotive Works |
| Traction Motors | 6FRA 6068 3-phase squirrel-cage induction motors (850 kW, 2180V, 1283/2484 rpm, *270/310A; Weight- 2100 kg, forced-air ventilation, axle-hung, nose-suspended; Torque 6330/7140Nm. *95% efficiency.) |
| Gear Ratio | 72:20 |
| Axle load | 20.5t |
| Power | 6350 HP |
| Wheel diameter | 1092mm new, 1016mm worn |
| Wheelbase | 15700mm |
| Bogies | Co-Co, Fabricated Flexicoil Mark IV bogies; bogie wheelbase 18500mm + 18500mm |
| Unsprung mass per axle | 3.984t |
| Length over buffers | 20562mm |
| Length over headstocks | 19280mm |
| Body width | 3152mmn |
| Cab length | 2434mm |
| Pantograph locked down height | 4255mm |
Accidents and incidents
Kalka Mail which derailed on 10 July 2011 was being hauled by a WAP-7 locomotive.Malfunction of the undergear of the locomotive could also be a reason. The driver of the Kalka Mail said he saw the engine shaking.
A post-accident diagnostic revealed that the first axle (leading) of the locomotive registered a jerk and the fourth axle (trailing bogie) showed loss of contact of the wheel with the track.
The locomotive in question (30221) has been re-railed and is undergoing fault diagnostics and repairs.
Trains hauled by WAP-7
- Howrah Rajdhani Express (Ghaziabad WAP-7)
- Sealdah Rajdhani Express (Ghaziabad WAP-7)
- Mumbai Rajdhani Express (Ghaziabad WAP-7)
- August Kranti Rajdhani Express (Ghaziabad WAP-7)
- Chennai Rajdhani Express (Ghaziabad WAP-7)
- Bangalore Rajdhani Express (Ghaziabad / Lallaguda WAP-7)
- Secunderabad Rajdhani Express (Lallaguda WAP-7)
- Thiruvanant Rajdhani Express (Ghaziabad WAP-7)
- Bilaspur Rajdhani Express (Ajni WAP-7)
- New Delhi - Howrah Duronto Express (Ghaziabad WAP-7)
- New Delhi - Sealdah Duronto Express (Ghaziabad WAP-7)
- Delhi Sarai Rohilla - Yesvantpur Duronto Express(Ghaziabad / Lallaguda WAP-7)
- Hazrat Nizamuddin - Secunderabad Duronto Express (Lallaguda WAP-7)
- Hazrat Nizamuddin - Ernakulam Duronto Express (Ghaziabad WAP-7)
- New Delhi - Allahabad Duronto Express (Ghaziabad WAP-7)
- Hazrat Nizamuddin - Chennai Duronto Express (Ghaziabad WAP-7)
- Hazrat Nizamuddin - Pune Duronto Express (Ghaziabad WAP-7)
- Hazrat Nizamuddin - Mumbai Yuva Express (Ghaziabad WAP-7)
- New Delhi - Howrah Yuva Express (Ghaziabad WAP-7)
- Hazrat Nizamuddin - Chennai Garb Rath Express (Ghaziabad WAP-7)
- VSKP-HYB-VSKP GODAVARI SUPERFAST EXPRESS (Lallaguda WAP-7)
- Himalayan Queen Express (Ghaziabad WAP-7)
- Andhra Pradesh Express (Lallaguda WAP-7)
- Char Minar Express (Lallaguda WAP-7)
- Taj Express (Ghaziabad WAP-7)
- Chattisgarh Express (Ajni WAP-7)
- Sewagram Express (Ajni WAP-7)
- Brindavan Express (Lallaguda WAP-7)
- Goa Express (Ghaziabad WAP-7)
- Shan-e-Bhopal Express (Ghaziabad WAP-7)
- Sindri Passenger (Gomoh WAP-7)
- Agra - Jhansi Passenger (Ghaziabad WAP-7)
- Chennai Bangalore Mail ((Lallaguda WAP-7)
- Chennai Bangalore Express (Lallaguda WAP-7)
- Chennai Bangalore Brindavan Express (Lallaguda WAP-7)
- Howrah Dhanbad Coalfield Express (Howrah WAP-7)
- HaZrat Nizamuddin - Patna Garib Rath Express( Ghaziabad WAP-7)
And Many More
See also
- Indian RailwaysIndian RailwaysIndian Railways , abbreviated as IR , is a departmental undertaking of Government of India, which owns and operates most of India's rail transport. It is overseen by the Ministry of Railways of the Government of India....
- Indian LocomotivesIndian locomotivesLocomotives in India consist of electric and diesel locomotives. Steam locomotives are no longer used, except in heritage trains. Locomotives are also called locos or engines....
- Indian Locomotive Class WDM-2Indian locomotive class WDM-2The class WDM-2 is Indian Railways' workhorse diesel locomotive. The first units were imported fully built from the American Locomotive Company in 1962. Since 1964, it has been manufactured in India by the Diesel Locomotive Works , Varanasi. The model name stands for broad gauge , diesel , mixed...
- Indian locomotive class WAP-4Indian locomotive class WAP-4WAP-4 is one of the most important electric locomotives used in India. It is a very powerful class capable of hauling 26 coaches at a speed of 140 km/h...
- Indian Locomotive Class WAP-5Indian locomotive class WAP-5WAP 5 is the name of a class of electric locomotive used by Indian Railways. The first 10 locomotives were imported from ABB in Switzerland in 1995. They are supposed to be a variant of the Lok 2000. Chittaranjan Locomotive Works started production in 2000. It was designed to haul 18 coach...
- Indian locomotive class WAG-9Indian locomotive class WAG-9WAG-9 is the name of a type of electric locomotive used in India. Homed mainly at Gomoh, Ajni,Lallaguda,Tughlakabad and Bhilai, it is currently the most powerful locomotive in Indian Railways' fleet. It is very similar to the class WAP-7; The only difference being the gear ratio which makes it...