Alstom Traxx


Alstom Traxx is a modular product platform of mainline diesel-electric and electric locomotives. It was produced originally by Bombardier Transportation and later Alstom, and was built in both freight and passenger variants. The first version was a dual-voltage AC locomotive built for German railways from the year 2000. Later types included DC versions, as well as quadruple-voltage machines, able to operate on all four electrification schemes commonly used in Europe. The family was expanded in 2006 to include diesel-powered versions. Elements common to all variants include steel bodyshells, two bogies with two powered axles each, three-phase asynchronous induction motors, cooling exhausts on the roof edges, and wheel disc brakes.
The TRAXX brand name itself was introduced in 2003. The acronym stands for Transnational Railway Applications with eXtreme fleXibility. With the takeover of Bombardier Transportation by Alstom in January 2021, the trademark rights were transferred to the new owner. In the summer of 2023, Alstom extended the use of the word mark to the entire range of locomotives and completely stopped using its own word mark Prima. At the same time, communication was switched to the journalistic spelling Traxx and additional word marks were registered.
Locomotives were primarily made for the railways of Germany, with orders coming from other countries including France, Israel, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg, Poland, Spain, Hungary, South Africa and the Netherlands.
The TRAXX locomotives were developed at Bombardier plants in Mannheim, Zürich Oerlikon in Switzerland and Vado Ligure in Italy. The final assembly of the vehicles takes place at Bombardier's locomotive production centres at Kassel in Germany and Vado Ligure.

Development

AEG 12X, ABB Eco2000 platform

In the early 1990s, West German federal railway Deutsche Bundesbahn sought to replace its ageing electric locomotive fleet with a single type. In the previous decade, DB introduced its first universal locomotives with three-phase asynchronous induction motors and two bogies with two powered axles each, the DB Class 120, which had been successful. In 1991, DB requested bids for about 1000 more universal locomotives with an improved design and increased power, the planned DB Class 121. The railway industry began developing new locomotives, but in October 1992, DB cancelled the tender due to the high price of the offers and the changed situation. In 1994, Deutsche Bundesbahn merged with the former East German Deutsche Reichsbahn, creating Deutsche Bahn, bringing over 600 modern DR Class 243 locomotives into the joint locomotive fleet. In addition, the merger coincided with a railway reform, dividing the rolling stock of Deutsche Bahn between its regional passenger, long-distance passenger and freight business areas, making the universal locomotive plans obsolete. From late 1993, the business areas of Deutsche Bahn and their predecessors called new bids for electric locomotives tailored for their specific needs.
The competitors for the DB Class 121 included two of the forerunners of Bombardier Transportation: German locomotive manufacturer AEG Schienenfahrzeuge, a part of AEG which was controlled by Daimler-Benz at the time; and ABB Henschel, a German locomotive manufacturing branch of Swedish-Swiss company ABB. Components of both the AEG and ABB concepts were built into the prototypes of the DB Class 120 for trials from late 1991. AEG followed up its development effort by building an experimental universal locomotive, the 12X. This locomotive can be considered the predecessor of the TRAXX family. The 12X was delivered in June 1994 and, although owned by AEG, was designated Class 128 by DB. The 12X featured several innovations compared to the Class 120, including water-cooled inverters based on GTO thyristors, a new final drive concept with pivot axle bearings on both sides, and a new bogie concept with a short wheelbase of. The locomotive also had a modular design, allowing the derivation of different versions for different operational needs, and thus it formed AEG's basis to compete for the new orders of Deutsche Bahn's business areas. Meanwhile, ABB developed its own design of a modular electric locomotive platform, the Eco2000 concept. ABB's concept included a version of its Flexifloat high-speed bogie family with a wheelbase of ; and biodegradable ester cooled inverters with GTO thyristors and an also ester cooled main transformer, which can be considered the origin of the inverters and transformer of the first generation of TRAXX locomotives.
The 12X was later used as testbed for new technologies, becoming the first locomotive in the world with IGBT based converters in 1997 and testing the MITRAC traction control electronics from 1998. Both of these technologies would later find their commercial application in TRAXX locomotives.

DBAG Class 145 family, Adtranz Octeon platform

In November 1994, Deutsche Bahn chose ABB and AEG for two of its orders: ABB was to deliver 145 express locomotives for DB's long-distance business area DB Fernverkehr, the DB Class 101, while AEG was to supply DB's freight business area DB Cargo with eighty locomotives for medium-weight freight trains, the DBAG Class 145.
The original Class 145 design was a cheaper derivative of the 12X, omitting components for higher speeds, including hollow-shaft drives, which were replaced by simpler axle hung drives. In January 1996, ABB and Daimler-Benz merged their railway business areas into a joint venture, ADtranz. The final design of the locomotive was adapted for more commonalities with the DBAG Class 101. The biodegradable ester cooled inverters with GTO thyristors and the also ester cooled main transformer of the DBAG Class 145 was derived from those of the DBAG Class 101, but with less components for the lower maximum power, providing for individual bogie control rather than individual axle control. The bogie design was also adapted and merged into the ABB-originated Flexifloat family, with wheelbase increased to. Due to the shared features, the Class 145 was sometimes described as a member of the Eco2000 family.
Adtranz rolled out the first Class 145 in July 1997. In addition, 17 identical locomotives were built for lease to private railways. A further six locomotives were built for the Swiss railway MittelThurgauBahn.
In March 1998, Adtranz announced its intent to consolidate its product range into seven modular product platforms. The electric locomotive platform with the brand name "Octeon" was to be based on Adtranz's newest types for Germany. Adtranz originally intended to introduce Octeon types alongside existing products, and applied the name to its new products outside Germany at the end of the nineties, like the FS Class E464 or the heavy-haul locomotive Iore. The GTO thyristor based converters of these locomotives were from the water-cooled Camilla family, which was developed by ABB as successor for the oil-cooled converters in the SBB-CFF-FFS Re 460. The Octeon brand name did not catch on and was abandoned when Bombardier acquired Adtranz in 2001.
Between 2000 and 2002, a version of the DBAG Class 145 for passenger trains, with hollow shaft final drive and a higher top speed of 160 km/h, was produced for DB's regional business area DB Regio. The top of the front of the carbodies was modified to provide space for a flip-disc display. These locomotives were given the designation DBAG Class 146.0.
Although the production of the DBAG Class 145 ended by the time Bombardier bought Adtranz in 2001, and even the production of the Class 146.0 locomotives ended by the time the TRAXX brand name was introduced in 2003, in Bombardier's own publications, the Class 145 was included in the TRAXX F140 AC, the Class 146.0 in the TRAXX P160 AC type. The still in-production FS Class E464 got the designation TRAXX P160 DCP, while TRAXX H80 AC was applicable to the Iore class, however, these then still in production types were excluded from the TRAXX family in publications after 2007.

DBAG Class 185 family, Bombardier TRAXX platform

In July 1998, Adtranz received a follow-on order for 400 more locomotives for medium-weight freight trains, the DBAG Class 185. The double voltage Class 185 was meant for international operation, and was also dubbed Europalok. The basic concept of the running gear, the axle hung motors, the ester cooled inverters and transformer was maintained from the Class 145. In addition to the electronics for double voltage operation, modifications included the provision for the installation of the full variety of train protection systems in use in Europe, and the lowering of the roof by 105 mm to fit the vehicle in the international UIC 505-1 loading gauge.
In 2001 Bombardier bought Adtranz, thus acquiring locomotive building technology. Under Bombardier, the Class 185 was developed into a family like that of the Class 145, with private railway and passenger versions. In May 2003, Bombardier also received an order for a quadruple system version from the Swiss Federal Railways.
In September 2003, Bombardier gave the Class 185 family a brand name, TRAXX, intended to allude to the terms 'traction', 'track' and 'attraction'. The acronym stands for Transnational R'ailway Applications with eXtreme fleXibility. The first letter of TRAXX type designations provides for differentiation according to the area of application, with F for freight and P for passenger. The original system also tentatively included H for heavy-haul and S for high-speed, but no actual vehicles were delivered under this designation. The number following the first letter indicates the top speed of the locomotive in kilometers per hour. The next two letters indicate the supply system, with AC for alternating current electric locomotives, DC for direct current electric locomotives, MS for multi-system locomotives capable of operating both under AC and DC overhead wires, and DE was foreseen from the start for an eventual Diesel-electric version. An extra P letter at the end was to designate powerheads, that is locomotives with one driving cabin for push-pull operation. An also optional number at the end designates different versions, later used for the designation of generations.
In the new system, the factory designation of the DBAG Class 185 and its sisters with other railways became TRAXX F140 AC, that of the DBAG Class 146.1 TRAXX P160 AC, and that of the planned quadruple voltage SBB locomotive TRAXX F140 MS.
When Bombardier introduced the first TRAXX 2 types, the original family was also designated TRAXX 1', and the number 1 was added at the end of the type designation of first-generation locomotives still in delivery.