Eurotunnel Class 9
The Eurotunnel Class 9 or Class 9000 are six-axle high-power Bo′Bo′Bo′ single-ended electric locomotive built by the Euroshuttle Locomotive Consortium of Brush Traction and ABB. The class was designed for and is used exclusively to haul the Le Shuttle road vehicle services through the Channel Tunnel.
Background and design
Tendering for the locomotive procurement began in 1989. The specification included; a top speed of ; a terminal-to-terminal travel time of 33 minutes pulling a train; an axle load limit of ; an operating temperature range between and ; a loading gauge within the UIC 505-1 standard; a minimum curve radius of ; be able to start a shuttle train on a 1 in 160 gradient with one locomotive bogie inoperative, and a single locomotive should be able to start the train on the same gradient if the other locomotive failed. The operating concession agreement between Transmanche Link/Eurotunnel and the British and French governments required that there be a locomotive on either end of the train, allowing splitting and reversing of the train.The design specifications implied a minimum power of, and also meant that a four-axle design would not be guaranteed to be able to supply sufficient tractive effort. The French railway lobby was suggesting using three four-axle Bo′Bo′ locomotives. ESCL proposed a six-axle Bo′Bo′Bo′ locomotive derived from the narrow-gauge Class 30 EF locomotives supplied by Brush Traction to the New Zealand Railways Corporation and won the contract with an initial order of 40 in July 1989.
The main traction electrical system consists of; two pantographs collecting a 25 kV AC supply which feeds the main transformer, with separate output windings rectified to a DC link using four quadrant converters. The direct current drives a three-phase inverter, which powers two asynchronous three-phase induction motors. There are two additional output windings on the transformer for the locomotive's auxiliaries and to supply power to the train vehicles.
The bogies were a fabricated steel design, with coil spring primary suspension. The traction motors and gearboxes were mounted to the bogie frame and connected to the wheels by a flexibly coupled quill drive. Traction links were connected to the bogie frame at a height of above rail. The locomotive superstructure is supported on coil springs on a central swing bolster, and the centre bogie allows of lateral movement to negotiate small-radius curves. Yaw dampers are also fitted.
The locomotive superstructure is a stressed-skin monocoque design.
The driver's cab and exterior design of the locomotives was undertaken by DCA Design, Warwick, UK. Side windows in the locomotive cab are omitted to prevent 'segment flicker' caused by fast running in the tunnel, a potential distraction and cause of driver drowsiness. The driving position was air conditioned and pressurised, and incorporated in-cab TVM 430 signalling. The driving cab also incorporates train manager's facilities, including safety systems such as CCTV, alarms and communication links. There is a second driving position for shunting at the rear of the locomotive.
9100 subseries
The 9100 subseries use IGBT-based traction inverters instead of GTO based in the original 9000 series, and have one inverter per motor instead of one per bogie in the 9000 series.Testing, operations, and subclasses
The initial order for 40 units was reduced to 38, numbered 9001 to 9038. The first locomotive was completed in 1992, and two units were tested at the Velim test track in the Czech Republic. Locomotive 9004 started its required 50,000-kilometre endurance test at Velim on 17 August 1993 and finished it on 23 September 1993.The formal opening took place on 6 May 1994 with Queen Elizabeth II and François Mitterrand travelling on a shuttle through the tunnel.
The 1996 Channel Tunnel fire damaged locomotives 9030 and 9006, 9030 beyond repair. In 1997 Eurotunnel ordered five more locomotives, and in 1998 nine more. One of the second batch was numbered 9040, the others 9101 to 9113.
In 2000 seven more were ordered numbered 97xx, with an increased power of ; deliveries ended in 2003,. After 2000 20 units were upgraded from to match the increasing length of truck shuttles, replacing main transformer, traction converters and motors.
In 2011 Eurotunnel had 57 locomotives, of which 34 are machines, the remainder. The company plans to upgrade 11 more machines to by 2013.
By 2018 of the 57 locomotives, 44 of them had been upgraded to the version, while the remaining 13 still have the original power.
The locomotives are maintained at the Eurotunnel depot located just beside Eurotunnel Calais Terminal at Coquelles near Calais, France.
| Number range | Built | Power | Notes |
| 9001-9038 | 1992–1994 | 9030 withdrawn due to fire damage | |
| 9040 | 1998 | Built to replace fire-damaged locomotive 9030 | |
| 9101-9113 | 1998–2001 | Dedicated to freight shuttles | |
| 9701-9707 | 2001–2002 | Dedicated to freight shuttles | |
| 9801- | Rebuilt 2004-2012 | Rebuilt from machines |