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Watco Australia Rail Team Wired Up With New Technology
by OneWatco
Every day, rail operators worldwide move freight trains in perfect synchronization with locomotives at each end, communicating via a radio-controlled distributed power (DP) wireless connection. However, Watco’s rail team in Queensland, Australia, has managed something very unique. They have begun using a new method of operating locomotives together using a fully wired distributed power (WDP) electrical connection.
The WDP method of operating dual locomotives involves the electrically controlled pneumatic (ECP) brake system. Typically, freight trains running with ECP braking are incredibly long: more than 100 freight cars (or wagons in Australia) in length. The fast reaction time of electronic brake valves provides the train engineer (train drivers in Australia) a far quicker and more responsive brake than typical pneumatically-operated brake valves. This results in smoother train handling.
It is common for ECP-equipped trains to run the WDP system along the same electrical cable system that is installed on every locomotive and wagon to operate the ECP system. But Watco Rail’s new GrainCorp freight service is only moving a maximum of forty-two freight wagons at any given time. This means installing and using an ECP brake system with WDP wouldn’t offer much of an advantage. But our customer wanted the same responsiveness, without the significant overhead costs. “That’s why our team put in the extra effort to install a pure WDP system for Watco’s newest Australian customer,” said Cameron Swaine, Watco Australia Vice President of Maintenance and Rolling Stock. “This feature helps GrainCorp achieve faster load and train turnaround times at several key strategic load sites in Queensland.”
For this new system to become a reality, Watco worked closely with locomotive manufacturer National Rail Equipment, who collaborated with Wabtec Corporation, to develop a unique WDP that could operate without expensive ECP components fitted to either the locomotives or wagons. The result of this collaboration has enabled Watco to meet the customer’s particular needs while keeping the costs of these new train sets within the budget requirements.
