Bombardier Zefiro is a family of high-speed passenger trains designed by Bombardier Transportation whose variants have top operating speeds of between and. The family consists of: the Zefiro 250, which has a top operating speed of and which is for the moment wholly manufactured in China; the Zefiro 300, which has a top operating speed of but design Up to ; and the Zefiro 380, which has a top operating speed of.
Background
Bombardier transportation and its predecessor companies produced a variety of high-speed trainsets, as part collaborations with other conglomerates, such as the Intercity-Express family of locomotives, AVE Class 102, RENFE class 130, ICN, the Acela express, and parts of the TGV Duplex, Eurostar, Thalys, and ETR 500 trainsets. Additionally the company has independently produced high-speed trainsets for specific markets, such as CRH1, "Xinshisu", X 2000, Regina and Class 71. In November 2005 Bombardier launched its general solution, the Zefiro single-deck train for high-speed rail lines, available in 4-, 8-,12- or 16-car sets, capable of being configured for a variety of supply voltages, and produced in either standard or a wide widths.
Design
The Zefiro trainset is a conventional single-deck electrical-multiple-unithigh-speed train. It consists of powered and unpowered cars, with motorized power cars at either end. Car bodies are constructed of aluminium, with the exception of the wide-bodied Zefiro 250 trains, which have stainless steel bodies. They have customisable open-plan layouts. Trains are made up of 4-car units, each of which contains a transformer and its own power supply. Typically, the end cars of each 4-car unit have powered bogies, with the two middle cars being unpowered. The pantograph is located on one of the unpowered cars. The specifications for all current designs describe asynchronous three-phase motors, with forced air cooling. However, Bombardier also offers the option of permanent-magnet synchronous motors, which were tested on modified Regina trains in 2008 on the "Green Train".
Variants
Zefiro 250
The first variant of the Zefiro concept to be produced was a series of twenty 16-car EMU sleeper trains produced by Bombardier's joint venture Sifang Power Transportation, which were delivered from 2009. These trains were the first high-speed train licensed to be manufactured in China as well as the fastest sleeper trains in the world. China Railways designated them as CRH1E. Starting acceleration is greater than, with a 16-car train weight of and an axle load of, bogie type is that found on the Regina with wheelbase with 63% of axles motorized. In July 2010 The Ministry of Railways ordered 40 more 8-car CRH1E Zefiro high-speed trains from the Sifang Transportation Ltd joint venture. In September 2012, based on a modified contract with Bombardier, The MOR ordered an additional 106 8-car trains, 60 of which are to be a new variant, designated the Zefiro 250NG. This variant is an evolution of the original, and will utilize different materials in order to provide weight savings and more efficient operation.
Zefiro 300
The Zefiro 300 is intended for European operations, with a UICprofile, and capable of being fitted for use on all four European electrification schemes. Bogies are FLEXX type with a wheelbase, 50% of which are motorized. Starting acceleration is greater than. It has an axle load of approximately. Two 8-car sets can be joined together to form one longer train. A variant of the Zefiro 300 was offered by Bombardier in association with AnsaldoBreda to Trenitalia, the Italian national railway service, as part of a bid for 50 new high-speed trainsets in 2010. Trenitalia selected this bid as the winner on 5 August 2010. These entered service in 2015 and are designated ETR400 - Frecciarossa 1000. An evolution of the Italian version of the Zefiro 300 was also offered by Bombardier for High Speed 2 commercial tender.
Zefiro 380
In September 2009, Bombardier announced an order for eighty Zefiro 380 high-speed trains by the Chinese Ministry of Railways to be produced at Bombardier's joint venture Sifang Transportation Ltd. The order of twenty 8-car sets and sixty 16-car sets was estimated to be worth 27.4 billion RMB. The value of Bombardier's share is estimated at €1.3 billion. Under China railways use these trains have been designated CRH1C and CRH1D. which was in December 2010 revised to CRH380C and CRH380CL and once again to CRH380D & CRH380DL according to the new numbering system. As of the most recent news, the order has been amended to include only seventy 8-car sets, designated as the CRH380D. Orders for the 16-car DL sets were converted to D sets in late 2011. All the 85 trainsets have been delivered and are currently operated byShanghai Railway Bureau & Chengdu Railway Bureau.
Zefiro Express
Swedish regional transport authority Västtrafik ordered 40 new trains in 2018, later increased to 45 trains, of a new model capable of 200 km/h. They will have three cars and be around 80 meters long. First delivery is planned to end of 2021.
