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Bombardier has consolidated its range of bogies under the Flexx name, but there is more to it than this, says Mr Bart Vantorre, president of Bombardier's bogie business unit, as the addition of technology makes the intelligent bogie a reality.
THE Flexx bogie portfolio initially stemmed from a consolidation of Bombardier's significant range of bogie designs. With as many as 250 different bogie types at the time of Bombardier's acquisition of Adtranz in 2001, it became clear that rationalisation of the range was required, and so Bombardier selected the best products for a global market in terms of proven reliability, flexibility and safety. The result is the Flexx range of modular bogies and technologies which covers the entire gamut of applications from trams and light rail, metro and commuter to regional and mainline vehicles.
One such development is Bombardier's Flexx Tronic technology, which featured in the record-breaking achievements of the Green Train project in Sweden (IRJ September p51). A milestone was achieved in July 2007 as a Regina 250 train, which normally operates at 200km/h, set a record in Sweden by reaching a top speed of 282km/h, while in July 2008 the passive version with permanent magnet motors moved the record to 295km/h.
Realising that the potential to exceed the 300km/h threshold was within the bogie's capability, we scheduled a further test run for September 15 when the train reached an impressive 303km/h. The passive self-steering bogies and active lateral suspension ensured that neither stability nor comfort were compromised at speeds previously unprecedented on Swedish track.
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