ZF to Supply Special Spur Gear Drives for Boston’s Metro Trains

www.chinabuses.org: The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) has placed an order for 284 metro trains from Chinese rail vehicle manufacturer CRRC. ZF is to supply the spur gear drives and will deliver initial production units at the end of 2016, with volume production delivery starting in the 4th quarter of 2017. This special two-stage hollow shaft spur gear drive was developed in Friedrichshafen, Germany, but is being produced at ZF’s Gainesville, Georgia location in the United States. There are a number of other US Rail Authorities drive systems currently being produced by ZF at the Gainesville facility.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) is one of the oldest local public transport authorities in the United States. Opened in 1901, the “Orange Line” from Oak Grove to Forest Hills is the oldest "genuine" metro line in the U.S. The “Red Line” operates between Alewife and Braintree.

High reliability, customer-specific design and development along with the most modern production technology and the best overall package for the customer are essential success factors when building electric metro trains.

The drive system has an impressive 1,040 Nm input torque and 100 kW engine output. It comes inside a weight optimized spheroidal graphite cast iron housing.

Another feature of the ZF drive system is the use of ZF standard labyrinth seals, which shorten the development time significantly, thus benefitting the customer.

The first 32 drives will begin delivering at the end of 2016. Ramped up volume production delivery is scheduled for the 4th quarter of 2017, with more than 20 spur drive units to be delivered monthly to the manufacturer of the Metro trains’ drive units. This will continue through the end of 2021.

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