| Background: |
|
| Sri Lanka Railways S8 | |
| Imagealt: | Class S8 |
| Manufacturer: | Hitachi |
| Replaced: | Class S6, S7 |
| Yearconstruction: | 1991 |
| Yearservice: | 1991 |
| Numberbuilt: | 20 |
| Formation: | 4 Passenger Compartments, including control unit, Engine Unit |
| Fleetnumbers: | 821 ~ 840 |
| Operator: | Sri Lanka Railways |
| Depots: | Power Coaches Shed |
| Lines: | Main Line Kelani Valley Line Puttalam Line Coast Line |
| Carlength: | 652NaN2 |
| Maxspeed: | 88km/h |
| Weight: | 70t |
| Engine: | MTU 12V396TCI13 |
| Enginetype: | V12 diesel |
| Poweroutput: | 1430HP |
| Transmission: | Voith L 520 R U2 |
| Brakes: | Air |
| Coupling: | Automatic (dual) |
| Multipleworking: | Yes |
Class S8 is a Diesel multiple unit (DMU) made by Hitachi and Hyundai, operated by Sri Lanka Railways. It was imported to Sri Lanka in 1991 and, according to the website Sri Lanka Railways Info Page, is "the best diesel multiple unit ever imported to Sri Lanka". The S8 primarily runs on the Kelani Valley Line (pictured) operated by the forementioned Sri Lanka Railways. The S8 has a B-B+2-2+2-2+2-2 Axel configuration and a total axel load of 38,581 LBs (or 17,500 KG)[1]
This was introduced 12 years after the previous S7 DMU was imported. 20 train-sets were ordered in order to strengthen the DMU fleet of SLR.[2]
Due to high power of the engine, this has a higher acceleration rate and also this DMUs can be used for multiple unit working. Multiple S8 units are used in peak hours. These are mostly used in short distance services. Operation lines using the Class S8 are as follows;
It has four passenger compartments, including dummy control unit. There are no vestibules between the compartments, giving it better ability to run through sharp curves, such as those on the Kelani Valley Line.
Almost all units are in service, as none have been withdrawn, but the class has faced many accidents.
In 1991, a service train and a S8 DMU collided together, and the Dummy Unit of DMU was destroyed.In 1998 due to a derailment with a Canadian class m2 Montreal another Dummy Unit of a S8 DMU was destroyed