GERMANY: A metro car fitted with Siemens Syntegra bogies began running in passenger service in München on August 13. The Syntegra concept combines running gear, a three-phase gearless drive system and brakes within a single bogie with fewer mechanical parts than existing designs.
'Syntegra represents a generational change in the area of powered bogies for rail vehicles', said Hans-Jörg Grundmann, Chief Executive of Siemens Mobility. The bogie is claimed to be up to 30% lighter than convention designs, and Siemens is expecting to demonstrate energy savings of up to 20%.
One car of a B1.4 two-car metro trainset has been fitted with Syntegra bogies for the trials, and is now running as part of a standard six-car train. Measuring equipment is fitted to gather performance data, and Siemens expects the design to be ready for series production in two years.
