Siemens ES64U4

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The ES64U4 is a 4-axle AC electric locomotive designed by Siemens of Germany for rail transport across system in Europe.  It belongs to the 3rd generation of the EuroSprinter family of locomotives.  Similar enough to General Electric’s naming scheme, the ES64U4 simply translate into EuroSprinter (not Evolution Series), 6,400 kW (not horsepower, 6,400 kW is roughly 8,580 horsepower), Universal (both passenger and freight), 4-mode (European countries have different voltage and/or frequency in the cantenary system and some use DC instead of AC).  It weighs about 86 metric tonnes and is able to provide 300 kN (or 67,000 lbf) of tractive effort.  The ES64U4 is allowed a maximum speed of 230 km/h (143 mph) in passenger services and 140 km/h (87 mph) in freight services.  Pictures are linked from railcolor.net.

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On 2 September 2006, an unmodified ES64U4 (Rh 1216 050-5) prior to delivery to the Austrian Federal Railways ÖBB set a new record for conventional electric locomotives near Nürnberg, Germany where it reached a top speed of 357 km/h (222 mph).

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Next week we can talk about the fastest train in Canada and North America.

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Anonymous said…
The Turbo Train?
Mar 7, 2010, 4:06:00 PM
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