BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 30
By Fidan Babayeva – Trend:
The use of alternating current in the traction power supply system will contribute to an increase in the volume of passenger and cargo transportation in Azerbaijan, Trend reports with reference to the Azerbaijan Railways CJSC.
The Azerbaijan Railways company for the first time in its history began to test an AC electric locomotive. The first test trip, which took place at the Alabashli station near Ganja city, was successful.
The transition to the alternating current in the power supply of locomotives will lead to saving electricity and other resources, optimizing costs, simplifying operation, increasing the speed of trains. All this will ultimately have a positive effect on the growth of passenger and freight transportation.
Currently, 90 percent of the locomotive fleet in Azerbaijan accounts for electric locomotives. Azerbaijan Railways company plans to expand the use of alternating current in its power supply. For this purpose, 12 traction substations were built and 768 kilometers of the overhead line were reconstructed.
Some 40 AC freight electric locomotives and 10 passenger two-system electric locomotives (operating both on direct and alternating current) were ordered from Alstom company, of which 13 freight locomotives and 10 passenger locomotives have already been supplied to Azerbaijan.
Moreover, Azerbaijan Railways company is building two modern locomotive depots in Baku and Ganja for the maintenance and servicing of AC electric locomotives.
As part of the measures to switch to the alternating current, Azerbaijan Railways company is also carrying out the work to train personnel.
Thus, 23 locomotive drivers of Azerbaijan Railways company took part in a special training in Kazakhstan’s Nur-Sultan city in October 2019.
The construction of railways in Azerbaijan started back in 1878 and the Baku-Sabunchu-Surakhani railway, with a length of only 20 kilometers, was commissioned on January 20, 1880.
Since those periods, taking into account the growing demand for cargo transportation, the railways in Azerbaijan have been developed and improved.
Today, the total length of the main rail routes in the country reaches 2,954.74 kilometers, the operational length is 2,133.07 kilometers, of which 803.3 kilometers are double-track while 1,329.72 kilometers are single-track.
Some 1,169.17 kilometers or 54.82 percent of the total operational length of the tracks have been electrified, and 964.9 kilometers, that is 45.18 percent, operate on diesel traction. As many as 1,527.7 kilometers of tracks have been equipped with an automatic alarm system.
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