'88' unveiled
Stadler's dual-mode Class 88 for DRS due in UK later this year
DIRECT Rail Services says its new dual-mode Class 88 locomotives are expected to enter UK service in the “next few months”.
The comments were made by DRS Engineering and Performance Director Tony Bush, as 88003 was presented at InnoTrans on September 20.
The Berlin trade fair was also used by Siemens to display its Desiro City SWT electric multiple unit 707006 - the new units are expected to enter service with South West Trains next year ( RAIL 806).
Presentation of the dual-mode Class 88 locomotive follows two years after the Class 68 - with which it shares around 80% commonality - was displayed at InnoTrans in 2014. The leading railway trade show is held every two years.
Of the ten Class 88s currently on order for rolling stock owner Beacon Rail Leasing, all have either now been built or are under construction. The first (88001) has undergone testing at Velim in the Czech Republic, while 88002 was unveiled in July ( RAIL 807). None have yet arrived in the UK, but it is expected that all will have entered service by some time in 2017.
Beacon’s order for DRS for the Class 88 (designated by Stadler as the EURODUAL UK) was placed in 2013. The locomotives are able to run using either 25kV AC overhead electrification or under diesel power away from electrified lines. Maximum speed is 160kph (100mph).
With 123 vehicles on display, most of those at InnoTrans were not destined for UK service. Among
them was the Alstom Coradia iLint fuel-cell powered ‘Zero Emission Train’, a development based on its existing Coradia Lint DMU (see separate story, pages 6-7). Other vehicles included Vossloh’s new DE 18 four-axle diesel, while in addition to the ’88’ Stadler’s presence included its EC250 highspeed electric unit for Swiss Federal Railways.
As well as the latest version of its Desiro for SWT, Siemens’ display also included vehicles for non-UK markets. Among these were its Velaro high speed train for Turkey, as well as members of its Vectron locomotive family. Light rail, road-rail and maintenance vehicles were also exhibited - and the 2016 InnoTrans included a bus demo area for the first time.
Now in its 11th incarnation, the event once again broke records: InnoTrans 2016 featured 2,950 exhibitors from 60 countries, including the UK. At 112,000 square metres, the display area was 8% bigger than at the 2014 event.
Aside from new rolling stock, a key theme at this year’s InnoTrans has been digitisation of the railway, with multiple exhibitors offering products. These included UK-headquartered Nomad Digital, which supplies more than 80 customers including Alstom, Bombardier and Hitachi. The company claims its new mobile routing software can offer a 300% increase in WiFi broadband throughput performance.
The event also included an ‘InnoTrans Convention’ and a careers forum, while announcements included the unveiling of UNIFE’s World Rail Market Study 2016, which forecasts that the global supply market will expand by a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 2.6% between now and 2021. UNIFE says the market is currently worth some 159 billion euros.