The retrofit project upgraded 19 LE 5100 Co-Co electric locomotives that are operated by CFR Calatori, Romania’s state-owned passenger rail transport company. The oldest of the locomotives have been in service since the 1980s and their technology had become obsolete. Compared to modern locomotives, they were inefficient, expensive to operate, had poor availability and reliability, and required a lot of maintenance.
The locomotives are equipped with the newest technology from ABB: each is being retrofitted with one new tailor-made traction transformer, two BORDLINE® CC1500 AC Traction Converters with modern IGBT technology, and six AMXL 500 Traction Motors. The work is carried out by Reloc, a Romanian company that specializes in locomotive overhaul and modernization, and the project is being supported by an EU development fund.
The new ABB equipment boosts the locomotives’ traction power from 5.1 to 6 MW and increases their top speed from 120 to 160 km/h. The new traction system provides an overall efficiency improvement of 5% compared to the old traction system. Replacing the DC motors with AC products – the AMXL 500 is ABB’s largest AC rail Traction Motor to date – means much less maintenance is required, as there are no longer any carbon brushes that need to be regularly inspected and changed.
Advanced converter technology
The new ABB converters recover energy during braking, delivering an additional 15% energy saving. The overall efficiency improvement of around 20% not only saves energy but also reduces carbon emissions. Each locomotive is expected to drive more than a quarter of a million kilometers annually, resulting in lower emissions that will help make rail travel in Romania more sustainable.
New Reloc locomotive retrofitted with advanced traction systems. Image Reloc 
ABB supplied the complete traction chain, consisting of traction transformers, converters and electric motors. Image Reloc 
Benefits of the retrofit include increased energy efficiency, greater reliability, reduced maintenance and extended lifetime. 
BORDLINE® CC1500 Traction Converter with modern IGBT technology.
The ABB converter’s software provides advanced torque control, reducing wear on the gearbox. The software also enables the locomotives to be upgraded from bogie to single-axle control, which provides superior adhesion control and reduces wheel slip. This means less wear on the wheels, improving the locomotive’s availability and reducing maintenance.
Availability is further enhanced by the service friendliness of the ABB solution. Components are easily accessible in the converter cabinet, and modular construction enables fast replacements, reducing servicing times.
Close collaboration ensuring optimal results
“To ensure the success of this project we were looking for an outstanding partner,” says Dorin Soare, CEO, Reloc. “We needed a partner who could provide the entire traction chain, offer energy efficient solutions and meet challenging delivery deadlines. ABB was the right choice.”
“We needed a partner who could provide the entire traction chain, offer energy efficient solutions and meet challenging delivery deadlines. ABB was the right choice.”
“We are a single-source supplier for the entire traction chain,” says Saim Baran, Global Product Line Manager Retrofit, ABB. “We supply the transformer, converter and motor, all thoroughly tested and proven to work together. And our dedicated traction laboratory in Switzerland ensures that our solutions maximize energy efficiency.”
“Each retrofit project is unique. We start with our standardized components and carefully adapt them for a perfect match with the locomotive. When the old equipment is removed, the new ABB systems simply fit into the same space, using existing mountings wherever possible, for easy integration. At the same time, we ensure our technology matches the requirements of the grid and the railway transport company’s operating environment. This approach makes life easy for the integrator and ensures peace of mind for the operator.”
Reliable rail operations through locomotives retrofit
The ABB technology brings the locomotives into alignment with European transport standards and extends their lifetime by at least 15 years. The retrofit solution is future proof, as it ensures the locomotives are aligned with European transport standards and they are homologated complying with Technical Specifications for Interoperability (TSIs).
ABB’s participation in the retrofit project takes the story of the locomotives full circle, as they were originally built in Romania under license from ASEA, a Swedish company that later became part of ABB.
“Following the retrofit, the locomotive went through a rigorous testing and approval process, and they’ve already entered into service on our nation’s railways”, says Dorin Soare.
“In this type of retrofit process, it’s essential to have a good working relationship between the equipment supplier and contractor,” says Saim Baran. “We’ve developed a close working relationship with the team at Reloc, and this has kept everything running smoothly. Even though the focus of our current project is on passenger locomotives, we’ve worked with Reloc to ensure our solution has flexibility for use in freight locomotives as well.”
Through extensive expertise and comprehensive traction solutions, ABB is paving the way towards a leaner and cleaner rail future.
Reloc S.A. is based in Craiova, around 180 kilometers west of Bucharest, Romania. It specializes in the design, construction, repair and modernization of railway vehicle and rolling stock, as well as in the production of spare parts for the railway industry. Reloc has over 1,000 employees and has undertaken more than 15,000 repair and construction projects.
