Stadler Rail and the Brazilian company MRS Logística celebrate the unveiling of by far the largest and most powerful rack-and-pinion locomotive ever built. MRS ordered seven of these locomotives with a total value of around CHF 60 million (including reserve materials) from Stadler for the freight line from São Paulo to the Port of Santos. The first two vehicles will be transported to Brazil via Basel and Antwerp over the next few weeks. With this order, Stadler Rail has been able to demonstrate its innovative power and its leading global position in the construction of rack-and-pinion rail vehicles.

The seven powerful rack-and-pinion freight locomotives are needed by the large Brazilian cargo company MRS Logística S.A. primarily for heavy iron ore trains. The freight line from Sao Paulo to the Port of Santos is a 1,600-millimetre broad-gauge track with an approximately 10-kilometre long ramp, which is fitted with the Abt rack system. With a power of 5,000 kW, 760 kN tractive force at starting and a length of almost 19 metres per locomotive, these are the largest and most powerful rack-and-pinion locomotives ever built. Two of these locomotives in double traction will have a towing capacity of maximum 850 tonnes on the 104‰ ramps, making them 50% more powerful than those currently in use.

Peter Spuhler, owner and CEO of Stadler Rail Group, is delighted with the successful construction of these unique locomotives: “We are proud to have built the world’s most powerful rack-and-pinion locomotive. Thanks to our experienced engineering team, we are in a position to offer every customer tailor-made solutions.”

The four-axle locomotives have two bogies, which in turn each have two pinion transmission systems engaging with the triple-lamella Abt rack. Support is provided by two separate adhesion transmission systems, which contribute about 25% of the traction as the train goes uphill. The regenerative ability of modern traction equipment also enables massive energy savings to be made on the 3 kV DC line.