[BG / Expert] Englishmen in Bulgaria: DB Cargo Class 88 (British Rail Class 92) – fleet overview

Following the high interest in our recent publication about the homologation trials of 472 005 (former British Rail Class 92 005) in Croatia, we decided to shift the focus to DB Cargo Bulgaria, where such locomotives are also being used.

Built by ABB and Brush Traction in the early/mid ’90s, British Rail Class 92 was originally designed to operate trains between Britain and France through the Channel tunnel. With a total of 46 units, the fleet is capable of achieving а maximum power of 5 MW on overhead 25 kV AC or 4 MW on third rail 750 V DC.

It has been some time since the first Class 92 electric locomotive set foot (or rather wheels) on Bulgarian railway lines. Although initially there were some serious doubts whether those complex electrics would be able to prove successful operation in the harsh Balkan environment, the four Englishmen have been successfully pulling some of the heaviest trains in the country for almost six years now.

92 034 seen in Elin Pelin on a sunny spring afternoon, 16.04.2015 Photo: Konstantin Planinski

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