Russian Railways (RZD), currently Russia’s largest rail operator, is invest- ing heavily in the modernization of its fleet. Series EP20, a six-axle electric locomotive, has been built in Russia since 2011. Voith is now delivering 804 gear units for 134 locomotives of this type.

The EP20 is one of the most powerful mainline locomotives in Europe. The locomotive has three bogies with two driven axles each. The maximum output of the loco is 7.2 MW, which corresponds to the power of about

100 cars. A major criterion for the Russian manufacturer Transmashhol- ding was that the transmission would be able to cope with the high axle loads of 22.5 tons as well as the extreme weather conditions.

Temperatures of minus 50 to plus 55 degrees centigrade make heavy de- mands on the drive units of the locomotive. The newly developed SEH-525 gear unit from Voith, a fully suspended single stage helical gear unit with a hollow output shaft, is the ideal solution for these conditions. From 2014 Voith will be delivering twelve gear units to Russia every month.

Russian Railways will put a total of 200 new EP20 locomotives into ser- vice. The first ones are already in operation on the route between Moscow and St. Petersburg with maximum speeds of up to 200 km/h. Visitors to the 2014 Olympic Winter Games will also benefit from this modern rail power package when they are on their way to Sotschi.

Press Release of Voith, 5 November 2013