ABB Turbocharging in the Indian railway market

2,700 ABB turbochargers are reliably powering more than half of all diesel locomotives operating in India. Indian Railways (IR) is now gearing up for the next technology step, with strong support provided by ABB Turbocharging.

ABB Turbocharging in India has been associated with IR for more than 25 years, building a turbocharging relationship which has graduated from ABB being a supplier to its current status of business partner.  ABB Turbocharging in India is capable of meeting the current and future demands of IR with a strong foothold of more than 2,700 turbochargers on a fleet of approximately 5,200 diesel locomotives. ABB Turbocharging’s present scope of delivery includes the supply of new turbochargers, remanufacturing of damaged turbochargers, overhauling of turbochargers after a scheduled Time Between Overhaul (TBO) as well as the supply of spares for VTC304, VTC214 and VTR250 turbochargers, technical support and training. ABB Turbocharging in India started with its fuel efficient offering way back in 1994 when IR decided to adopt new technologies under a policy framework that opened the door to new vendors. An immediate solution was found: VTC304 turbochargers, which helped IR achieve a 5% improvement in fuel consumption compared with the traditional ALCO720 turbochargers. In a next step aimed at enhancing the power output with the existing ALCO engine block, IR looked into the suitability of various new technologies, including high horsepower motors, alternators, a modified engine block, and microprocessor controlled traction control。

Besides the reliable supply of turbochargers to IR for new locomotives, ABB provides continuous support for the maintenance of the growing turbo charger fleet. Trusting in the long-term partnership and based on previous service experience, IR has placed the entire service portfolio for maintenance of ABB turbochargers with ABB in India through frame agreements for the overhaul of TPR61 turbo chargers. In addition, all damaged turbochargers will be remanufactured under different rebuild contracts, thus ensuring a steady fleet of ABB turbochargers running on IR locomotives. As a unique customer of ABB in India, and one which is not only the OEM but also the turbocharger end user, IR has the potential to diversify and adopt the latest offering from the ABB portfolio to meet new demands on fuel economy and emission regulations.