Voith Presents Stop-Start System for Locomotives

The automatic OnEfficiency.StopStart system from Voith contributes to more efficient rail freight transport of the future. By switching off the traction engine of a locomotive during long waiting periods, operators save fuel and thus reduce costs and emissions.

In daily operations, the loading and unloading of vehicles, as well as line bottlenecks or the train formation process, lead to long waiting times. As a result, locomotives are operated at idle for more than 30 percent of their operating time. In the future, OnEfficiency.StopStart from Voith will enable automatic engine shutdown and restart during these phases. The innovative monitoring system from Voith permanently monitors important status variables of the engine and auxiliary systems and automatically starts the engine if necessary. This way, long set-up times are avoided, and the vehicle is always ready for operation, even in stop mode.

The new technology reduces the idle time of a locomotive by an average of 720 hours per year, resulting in fuel savings of up to 11,000 liters. As a result, it is possible to achieve high savings in operating costs. In addition, the number of refueling stops, as well as emissions, are significantly reduced. Besides these advantages, the reduction in engine operating hours offers the possibility of extending the maintenance intervals depending on the operating hours, thus saving maintenance costs. By installing the OnEfficiency.StopStart system, locomotives can contribute to future-oriented and environmentally friendly rail transport.

The new stop-start technology from Voith is approved by the German Federal Railway Authority (EBA).