Bangladesh Railway Class 3000

Bangladesh Railway Class 3000 is a class of meter-gauge diesel-electric locomotives of Bangladesh operated by Bangladesh Railway.

Bangladesh Railway Class 3000
Locomotive 3002 on a turmtable
Type and origin Power type Diesel-electric Designer Electro Motive Diesel .Inc (New) Builder Hyundai Rotem & EMD (New) Model EMD GT38AC (New) Build date 2020 (New) Total produced 11 (Old) 10 (90 more under construction) (New)
Specifications Configuration: ​  • AAR Co-Co (New) Gauge 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 ^3⁄8 in) Length 18.942 m (62.15 ft) (New) Height 3.766 m (12.36 ft) (New) Loco weight 108 tonnes (106 long tons; 119 short tons) (New) Fuel type Diesel Fuel capacity 3,800 litres (840 imp gal; 1,000 US gal) (New) Prime mover EMD E710G3A (New) Engine type Two-stroke (New) Traction motors AC (New) Cylinders 6 (new) Transmission Diesel-electric Loco brake Air (New) Couplers Norwegian (New)
Performance figures Maximum speed 110 km/h (68 mph) (New) Power output 335 hp (250 kW) (Old) 2,200 hp (1,600 kW) (New)
Career Operators Bangladesh Railway Class MEI-20 (New) Numbers 3001–3011 (old) 3001–3010 (new) Current owner Bangladesh Railway Disposition Active (except the old 11 locos)

Builders details

In the 1960s, some shunting locos entered the fleet of the then Eastern Bengal Railway as class/series-number 3000. The number of these locos were 11 probably.[1] Most specifications (like builder's name, build date and class-name) of these 11 locos are unknown. At present, none of them are active. None of them were preserved.

In 2020, 10 EMD GT38AC locos produced by Hyundai Rotem of South Korea under the license of Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD) of USA, entered the fleet of Bangladesh. They were also given the 3000 series. Though in the first phase, 10 locos came, 20 more in the second phase[2][3] and 70 more in the third phase[4] are planned to come in Bangladesh. The newer locos are used for both passenger and freight trains. The first commercial operation of these started with 3001 loco with Dhaka-Chittagong container train on 21/10/2020.

Technical details

The newer locos use the EMD E710G3A as prime mover. Their power is 2,200 hp and can achieve speed up to 110 km/h. The wheel arrangement is Co-Co. The power of older locos were 335 hp.

The design of old locos were similar to that of class 2300/2400, but the driver cab is situated at the center of the body. The design of newer locos are like class 2200 locos, having no short hood. With a length of almost 19 meters and weighing approximately 108 tons, these newer locos are currently the longest and heaviest meter-gauge diesel locos of Bangladesh. They are also the most powerful meter-gauge locos of the country. Though they are meter-gauge, they are designed in such a way that they can be converted into broad-gauge (1676 mm) locos in the future.

Besides Bangladesh, 55 EMD GT38ACe locos were also produced for Indonesia from 2011 to 2013.[5] Those locos have much similar specifications with class 3000 locos with some differences like, the loco design and gauge are different.

Classification and numbering

The number-series/class of these locos is 3000. Old locos were numbered from 3001 to 3011. New locos are numbered from 3001 to 3010. The class-name of old locos is unknown. The class-name/specification of new locos is "MEI-20". Here, M = Meter-gauge, E = Diesel-electric, I = Hyundai Rotem and 20 = 22 × 100 = 2,000 hp (actually 2,200 hp).

Liveries

1. Sky blue-yellow (new)

Accidents

• 20/10/2020: Trial locomotive 3003 encountered a three-way collision with a tomtom and a CNG auto rickshaw at Gudam quarter rail crossing in Feni at 12:00 pm. The tomtom and CNG was damaged badly, but no major damage happened for the loco. No casualties happened in this accident.

Gallery

Old Series

• 
  Old 3000 series locomotive

New Series

• 
  3001
• 
  3002

References

1. Engineers, United States Army Corps of (1961). Transportation Survey of East Pakistan, 1961: Detailed report. Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers.
2. "Hyundai Rotem wins Bangladesh locomotive order". International Railway Journal. 2019-02-22. Retrieved 2020-10-05.
3. 2019-02-22T12:29:17+00:00. "Bangladesh Railway orders metre-gauge locomotives". Railway Gazette International. Retrieved 2020-10-05.
4. 2018-10-12T09:25:14+01:00. "Hyundai Rotem wins further Bangladesh loco contract". Railway Gazette International. Retrieved 2020-10-05.
5. "Progress Rail Signs Contract with PT KAI for GT Series Locomotives". www.progressrail.com. Retrieved 2020-10-05.

External links

Media related to Bangladesh Railway Class 3000 at Wikimedia Commons