KAZAKHSTAN: Wabtec has finalised a US$405m agreement to supply Evolution Series ES44ACi (TE33A) diesel locomotives to national railway KTZ, which is upgrading its ageing fleet to meet growing demand.
The locos will be built at Wabtec’s LKZ plant in Astana, which employs over 700 people. Deliveries will begin in 2025, joining ‘approximately 451’ Evolution Series freight locomotives in KTZ’s fleet.
They will have a 12-cylinder, 4 500 hp Evolution Series engine, and will be designed for demanding weather conditions and mountainous terrain and to offer longer maintenance intervals than KTZ’s older locos.
‘Kazakhstan has a progressive and open-thinking local government that understands the importance of railways in driving the local economy’, said Gokhan Bayhan, Wabtec’s Regional Senior Vice-President, Operations for CIS, Europe, Middle East & Africa, on October 21. ‘KTZ serves as a critical link for the transportation of freight between China and the west. These Evolution Series locomotives will provide the efficiency, reliability, and operational savings to effectively support the growing demand on the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route.’
Meanwhile, the LKZ plant has delivered 18 Wabtec TEM-11A shunting locomotives under a 2018 order.
- Subscribers can read an in-depth article on Kazakhstan’s development of its position as a key node in the Eurasian transit market from the July 2024 issue of Railway Gazette International.
