Annual Report 2010 - Knorr-Bremse AG.

52 RepoR t | RAIL Ve HICLe SYSteMS
With the new E5 generation of the Shinkansen, JR East will be extending the “Tohoku“ line between
Tokyo and Hachinohe to Aomori, on the west coast of the main island of Honshu. If it is to compete
with air travel, the high-speed train has to complete the trip within three hours – which means increasing
its top speed from 275 km/h to 320 km/h. This calls for a braking system with substantially higher
performance.
In addition to supplying the E5 generation, Knorr-Bremse also received an order to supply most of the
bogie equipment for the pre-series prototype of the next generation – the E6. Delivery took place
within a few months of receipt of the order, and initial testing started in June 2010.
Knorr-Bremse upgrades Indian freight car brakes
The Indian national rail operator, Indian Railways, has chosen Knorr-Bremse to supply the new brakes
for a staged upgrade of its freight car fleet. In place of conventional braking technology, the cars will
be equipped with modern bogie brakes from Knorr-Bremse that are not only lighter and more efficient
but also more reliable, as well as having just one brake cylinder per bogie.
Indian Railways management began showing an interest in collaboration with Knorr-Bremse back in
2009, and in 2010 placed an initial order for the supply of bogie-mounted brake systems for approximately
11,000 freight cars by September 2011. Knorr-Bremse India wasted no time and began deliveries
in October 2010.
Along with modern bogie brakes, the Knorr-Bremse plant in India also manufactures conventional
brakes; however, demand is progressively shifting toward the more technically advanced bogie brakes.
Prizes and awards
Elogistics Award
Knorr-Bremse Systeme für Schienenfahrzeuge has won an Elogistics Award from AKJ Automotive – a
working group that brings together experts and top managers from the German automotive industry
and offers a platform for exchanging experience amongst OE manufacturers, suppliers and service
providers in the automotive value chain. The Elogistics Award is made in recognition of best-practice
solutions in the fields of IT and logistics developed by companies in the automotive industry and related
sectors.
Knorr-Bremse received the award for a pioneering solution to the problem of “uniform disposition responsibilities
in a complex plant structure” based on a sophisticated combination of logistics and information
technology. The company succeeded in designing an integrated disposition system with
only one person responsible for each category of goods, enabling customer requirements to be dealt
with much more rapidly and efficiently, even on a cross-plant basis.