It is summer in Europe, but not for the new generation of regional trains for the Dutch railways (NS). Recently a CAF SNG (‘Sprinter Nieuwe Generatie’) was subjected to extreme weather at the climate test center in Vienna. A EMU was tested at temperatures ranging from -25 to 40 degrees celsius.
“The staff (Railcolor: of RTA Rail Tec Arsenal) in Vienna took care of the tests,” says Shadia Mzoughi, NS Test Coordinator. “Employees of NS and CAF, the manufacturer of the new Sprinters, have indicated what should be tested and attended the tests. Some suppliers of subsystems, such as the air-conditioning, were also present. ”
In Vienna, different parts of the train have been tested, ranging from the pantographs and the automatic coupling to the toilet systems. Important part was the functioning of the doors and automatic steps, which also work covered by snow at a temperature around the freezing point. Same for checking if the new trains start up properly, if the toilets kept on working and how the heating systems functioned at -25 degrees. And
Not only cold weather was simulated, summer temperatures can be just as challenging. How does all before mentioned work at +40 degrees.
The test did reveal several issues that require extra engineering work, but nothing CAF can not solve. An example is the heating around one of the headlights of the train. This must work well so the light does not get covered up by snow.
In social media:
Vorst voor nieuwe Sprinter https://t.co/O7bDE2IjMr pic.twitter.com/qsu0Upn5bD
— NS online (@NS_online) August 2, 2017
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