SOUTH AFRICA: Leasing company Traxtion has completed a major overhaul of five Class 39 diesel locomotives which it acquired from South Africa’s Transnet Freight Rail as part of a strategy of expanding its fleet to meet a growing demand for rail freight services in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The 1067 mm gauge locos were originally manufactured by General Motors in South Africa in 1974-79 as the Class 34. From 2005 they were rebuilt by Transnet as the Class 39 in a programme which Traxtion said had proven ‘effective but expensive’.
Traxtion bought the five 2 250 kW locos from Transnet in December 2022. Its Rail Services Hub at Rosslyn near Pretoria then undertook a through six-yearly inspection followed by a major overhaul, which Traxtion said was ‘no small undertaking’.
This included refurbishment of the fuel injectors, engine water and oil pumps, bearings and the entire braking system, replacement of turbochargers and wheel reprofiling.
Work was also undertaken to reduce the body and tank weight to enable the locos to operate on typical African tracks without breaching the regional axle load limits or damaging the infrastructure.
Traxtion now has a fleet of 60 locomotives operating in eight countries. It says the demand for locomotives is increasing, and it is preparing to expand its fleet.
