RUSSIA: St Petersburg Metro has taken delivery of two twin-section battery locomotives produced by Transmashholding’s Oktyabrsky Electric Railway Car Repair Plant.
The locomotives are intended to haul service trains when the traction power is turned off. The onboard batteries and asynchronous traction drive will allow for operation throughout a 7 to 8 h shift, with the ability to recharge the batteries from either the conductor rail or an external AC power source. Maximum speed is 35 km/h.
The bodyshells are similar to Type 81-714 and 81-717 metro cars, with a driver’s cab at each end. Production of the locos started in May 2016.
