GUINEA: Russian manufacturer Sinara Transport Machines has been awarded a contract to supply six TGM8 ‘Elephant’ shunting locomotives to the Compagnie des Bauxites de Kindia bauxite mining subsidiary of aluminium producer RUSAL.
The first TGM8 four-axle diesel-hydraulic locos were produced for French company Solmer in 1972, and the design has subsequently been updated for export customers in countries including China, Cuba, North Korea, Pakistan, Vietnam and Yugoslavia.
The 882 kW locomotives for RUSAL will be built at STM’s Lyudinovo plant for delivery this year. Custom features of the 1 435 mm gauge shunters will include provision for operating in multiple and tropicalisation to cope with Guinea’s alternating dry and wet seasons.
‘The TGM8 is one of our locomotives targeted at foreign customers. It has repeatedly proved its functionality and shows excellent performance parameters’, said STM CEO Anton Zubikhin on August 25.
‘We already have experience of working with RUSAL and its subsidiaries, however, we have not previously supplied CBK nor Guinea. In this regard, signing of this agreement not only marks the beginning of opening up a new market for STM, but is also the next logical step to consolidate our fruitful co-operation with RUSAL.’
