Officials of the CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles Co., a subsidiary of China Railway Rolling Stock Corp., have announced on Thursday, May 5, that it will conduct a test of the country's first hybrid-power train next month, China Daily reported.
The test will be conducted at the China Academy of Railway Science, after completing the train's technical debugging phase in Jilin Province by the end of this month. To ensure the safety, quality and efficiency of the train, the test will be conducted for six months, the report said.
The new model will have two sources of power. These include a diesel generator package that gives integrated internal combustion power and a power battery pack to help reduce carbon emissions and diesel costs.
The development of the hybrid-powered train would be advantageous to China as it shifts from operating electric railway networks to non-electrified ones, An Zhongyi, CRRC Changchun's general manager, said.
The report added that opportunities for railway trade will come from countries looking for infrastructure facilities, improved equipment, passenger services and regional connectivity, and efficiency and green credentials. Demand for quality trains has surged in countries like Brazil, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United States.
According to the report, the hybrid-power train is designed to be operated on lines which are less than 100 km, or less than an hour journey. It will run at a speed between 120 km and 160 km per hour.
"The design team has already tackled technical issues such as weight control, noise and vibration," Li Xuefei, the project's chief engineer at CRRC Changchun, said.
According to Li, the new model can use a pantograph system, a device mounted on its roof that gets its power through contact with an overhead wire. If a power grid is unavailable, it can also be powered by an internal combustion power pack or power battery pack.
Based on the country's long-term railway development plan, China plans to continue investing in railways over the next five years by accelerating the building of its high-speed railway network and more inter-city and city-suburb links, as well as completing a freight railway network.
Hybrid-power trains are ideal for use on commuter lines between cities, trunk railways and railway lines for passenger traffic in highly urbanized places, the report said.