LITHUANIA: A TEM2UM-1000 shunting locomotive has been modernised using components from suppliers in the EU and the US to reduce fuel consumption by up 30% and meet the EU Stage V standard for particulate emissions.
The modernisation work included installation of a Caterpillar C32 engine, EMIT main and auxiliary generators and an Airpol SK30 compressor. A remote fuel metering system has been installed, along with CCTV.
‘By investing about 60% of the price of a new diesel locomotive, it is possible to have a vehicle that meets current requirements with modern equipment and a new economical diesel engine’, said Albertas Bajorinas, CEO of national freight operator LTG Cargo’s rolling stock maintenance business LTG Tech.
Thousands of TEM2 locomotives were produced in the USSR and the type is used across the 1 520 mm gauge region. Bajorinas said operators in Lithuania and Ukraine had expressed interest in the modernisation project, and similar work could be undertaken on the 1 435 mm version of the family, known as the SM48 in Poland.
‘More and more locomotive fleet managers are facing the problem that existing, older locomotives do not meet modern needs — they are quite polluting, and the costs of use and maintenance are high’, said Bajorinas. ‘At the same time, there is a dilemma as to what to do with locomotives that are nearing the end of their service life — how to extend their use more safely and at the same time minimise environmental damage. Our team was looking for answers to these questions.’
- LTG Tech has completed a programme to overhaul 44 Siemens Eurorunner diesel locomotives at cost of €1·1m each.
