The average life of a rail vehicle today is about 25-30 years. During this time, the train passes through various maintenance and servicing measures according to prescribed kilometres. During each maintenance there are specified components such as the bogie, brakes or gearbox. During maintenance, the train is not available for running. Therefore, train operators try to complete the maintenance in the shortest possible time. The maintenance costs are an important factor for the profitability of a train, as they are higher than the initial costs of the train over its lifetime.
More for less
To be able to reliably withstand the great stresses, "75 W 90" gear oils have become established for the lubrication of railway gearboxes. However, there are great differences here! The performance of these gear oils is strongly determined by their structure and composition. The longer the oil change interval can be selected, the more sustainably and economically a rail vehicle can be operated. This is because a longer gear oil change interval not only means lower costs per kilometer travelled, but also less lubricant consumption and thus lower CO2 emissions.
For this exact application, Klüber Lubrication has developed the high-performance gear oil Klübersynth GE 4 75 W 90. The fully synthetic oil with highly effective additives and high oxidation stability minimises wear in the gearbox and significantly extends the maintenance intervals. In practice, a doubling of the oil change interval can usually be achieved. Thus, a longer oil change interval can reduce the maintenance time of the train, so the train is back on track faster. Indeed, lubricant that is not consumed does not have to be produced, transported or disposed of.
A real-life example
With Klübersynth GE 4 75 W 90, many operators worldwide reduce large quantities of lubricant and at the same time improve their CO2 balance: with every litre of this gear oil that is not consumed, CO2 emissions of approx. 3 kg can be avoided. So by eliminating emissions in the production of oil and containers as well as in transport and ultimately in disposal, these emissions can be avoided. For a fleet of 50 trains, a saving of 1600 litres of transmission oil means a reduction of 4.8 tonnes of CO2.
A calculation example (for a fleet of 50 trains)
- 1 train with 4 gearboxes needs 32 litres of gear oil
- 50 trains = 1600 litres savings potential
1>3
- 1 L = 3 kg CO2 reduction
- 1600 L = 4.8 t CO2 reduction