The Timken Company announced April 3 that it is the sole authorized supplier of tapered roller bearings for the axle-riding final drives used to transmit power to the wheels of some of
The new Siemens Velaro E high-speed train is capable of achieving speeds up to 217 miles per hour on the
On the Velaro E, the drives are located directly below the passenger area. For this reason, noise reduction was a critical design objective. Voith made changes in the gearing and housing design and sought a new bearing concept.
Voith turned to Timken for help in designing a bearing for the output shaft of the drive that would support performance needs while being more compact and economical than the previous cylindrical roller bearing design used on some high-speed trains. Timken engineers designed tapered roller bearings capable of meeting the special design requirements and compatible with the extremely high travel speeds.
“We applied our knowledge of friction management and power transmission to take a proven bearing design and developed it further to improve the train’s performance, lowering weight and enhancing the passenger experience by reducing noise," said Mat Happach, Timken’s vice president for rail.
Timken has been developing and manufacturing products for the rail industry since the early 1930s. Its products are found on passenger and freight lines around the world.
