Eurailtest Takes Part in Zefiro Train Type Approval Tests for Bombardier and Hitachi Rail Italy
The ZEFIRO high-speed trainsets currently runs in commercial service at 300km/h in Italy under the name “Frecciarossa ETR1000” since June 2015.
The contract awarded by Trenitalia for supply of these trains included an option for sets for cross-border services with France.
Tests runned by Eurailtest on the Zefiro train
Europe’s most recent high-speed lines (HSL) have been designed and developed to a nucleus of common standards (TSI – Technical Specifications for Interoperability). The same is not true of older lines and, even less so, of “legacy” conventional lines. For Zefiro trainsets to be worked in France, adaptations therefore had to be made, in particular by installing an extra pantograph (1,500V, as opposed to the 3kV pantograph used in Italy) and fitting the safety equipment specifically required for France.
Eurailtest’s partner laboratories, the Railway Test Agency (AEF) and the Rolling Stock Engineering Centre at SNCF Mobilités and the Test and Measurement Department at SNCF Réseau, are involved in technical validation tests on the following:
- additional safety equipment,
- current collection,
- electromagnetic compatibility (EMC),
- track circuit drop shunts,
- system changeover at the border.
Two ZEFIRO trainsets were made available to facilitate the test scheduling process.
A first test campaign took place in Italy and culminated in the trainsets being approved for operation on the Italian rail network. Tests are now being conducted in France.
Our references
Bombardier Transport
Hitachi