Railway engines of different countries

[garibnawaz]

Let me put something unusual now. Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Borivali Mumbai has a narrow gauge train for visitors called as Vana-Rani (queen of forests). Its a narrow gauge joy ride and the engines and bogies are built by TATA. Its a Custom project for TATA as Government makes locos via their own PSU's. (Not that TATA's or Ashok Leyland or Kirloskar can't make loco's its Government Policy).

Here are the pics. Note: - All photos are taken by myself.

Starting point ^^^

^^^ TATA Built diesel loco.

^^^ cabin of loco.

Train and coupling system. ^^^

 

[HeinzG]

The accident happened due to 2 trains collided. If the two trains collided I wonder how it is the fault of manufacturer or brakes system?

If there was another train on the same track the other train should have given red signal at least a kilometer away. Was it done?

The thing I like about Sri Lankans and Bangladeshi's is they can't make anything by their own and can't handle or maintain anything they have bought from India so blame the Indians for poor quality to hide own incompetance.

The case here is that this set (The S-11) was brought in as the 100 kmph high speed system for the newly refurbished Matara-Colombo rail line, which the contract went to Indian firm despite series protest from Sri Lankan Railways to turn the decision down. But due to the fact The project ran on Indian money India dominated local decision makers.

There fore people were highly skeptical over the new set, which proved itself when it broken down during its maiden run. No train set in Sri Lanka before hand had failed in its maiden run, not even the scandalous M-9 (Alstom Prima brought from France).

As I said earlier no one can certain about the exact reason for the damage except for the SLR people who conducted the inquiry of this accident. And further more this accident was further get suspicious because few months earlier another accident was going to happen in the exact location but driver was managed to stop the train in time. So why this couldn't be done with S-11?

We don't blame for nothing if there is a fault the right authorities should accept it.

 

[garibnawaz]

The case here is that this set (The S-11) was brought in as the 100 kmph high speed system for the newly refurbished Matara-Colombo rail line, which the contract went to Indian firm despite series protest from Sri Lankan Railways to turn the decision down. But due to the fact The project ran on Indian money India dominated local decision makers.

There fore people were highly skeptical over the new set, which proved itself when it broken down during its maiden run. No train set in Sri Lanka before hand had failed in its maiden run, not even the scandalous M-9 (Alstom Prima brought from France).

As I said earlier no one can certain about the exact reason for the damage except for the SLR people who conducted the inquiry of this accident. And further more this accident was further get suspicious because few months earlier another accident was going to happen in the exact location but driver was managed to stop the train in time. So why this couldn't be done with S-11?

We don't blame for nothing if there is a fault the right authorities should accept it.

In India after every accident there is a commission which finds out the causes. The reports are public. Where is the accident report of this particular incident? Why it is not published yet? If published what are the official causes?

Let the Lankan Railways put the facts in front of its people.

Rest everything is he said this I said that which doesn't hold any credibility.

 

[HeinzG]

Does Sri Lanka still use steam engines??

No not anymore.

In India after every accident there is a commission which finds out the causes. The reports are public. Where is the accident report of this particular incident? Why it is not published yet? If published what are the official causes?

I don't know why it isn't made public. It is very suspicious though.

 

[shfgfa]

Russian Railways to Purchase Record Number of Locomotives


Russian Railways plans to buy a record number of locomotives next year to upgrade its aging fleet, Transportation Minister Maxim Sokolov said Thursday.

That is good news for French engineering conglomerate Alstom and its German competitor Siemens, which hold stakes in key Russian locomotive suppliers.

State-owned Russian Railways will spend 85 billion rubles ($2.7 billion) on the purchases next year, or about a fifth of its investment program for the period, Sokolov said.

The money will buy 770 long- and short-haul locomotives, he said.

"This is the most that the Russian Federation can produce per year," Sokolov said at a regular Cabinet meeting, which endorsed Russian Raiways' spending for next year.

Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov said that Transmashholding, co-owned by Alstom, will supply most of the machines.

Siemens is a partner in a joint venture named Sinara that makes locomotives.

Russian Railways' total investment spending approved for next year measures 411 billion rubles. The number dwarfs the 1.1 billion rubles that the company expects to earn in profit next year.

It will receive a federal subsidy and borrow 176 billion rubles to raise the funds for investment.

Some of the other major priorities for Russian Railways are completing its railway projects for the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, which will require 33 billion rubles next year, and increasing the through-put capacity of the rail network in and around Moscow, with 17.5 billion rubles set aside for the task.

New Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, a Cabinet veteran who has come back after an incredibly short stint as Moscow region governor, wondered if the domestic industry would be able to digest the huge locomotive contracts and received assuarances from Manturov.

Opening the Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev jokingly introduced Shoigu as "a little-known person."

Sokolov made an effort to show the government's restraint in supporting the railway monopoly. He said officials hadn't revised the plan to raise rail cargo rates despite changing the inflation outlook upward.

The government approved a 7 percent increase in the rail rates for next year, when consumer prices are expected to go up 5 percent. Officials now believe inflation will total 7 percent.

Economic Development Minister Andrei Belousov took issue with the company's social spending, which comes to 30 billion rubles next year, suggesting some of it could go toward investment instead.

"You need to look for reserves there," he said.

Belousov said rail-cargo rates contribute to inflation more than other key services when they become more expensive, such as electricity.

Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev brought up the question of railcars to transport inmates to prisons. Russian Railways' fleet of these cars has worn out and needs 400 new units, he said, but neither the ministry nor the company has the budget to finance the replacements.

Medvedev ordered the finance and transportation ministries to look into the matter.

 

[garibnawaz]

No not anymore.



I don't know why it isn't made public. It is very suspicious though.

and yet you and your countrymen delivered the verdict on Indian DMU?

 

[HeinzG]

and yet you and your countrymen delivered the verdict on Indian DMU?

Yes. As I said earlier the whole railway business we had with India was suspicious.

Reasons:-

1) The southern rail line is not up to the standard promised
2) The project was costly
3) No large scale benefits from the project except for the 100 Kmph speed tag
4) The DMU failed on it's maiden run (which hadn't happened before to any engine)

 

[garibnawaz]

WDP-4 (Diesel Shed Krishnarajpuram) of Mandovi Express (Konkan Railway) at Chiplun Station.

All pics taken by me

 

[garibnawaz]

Yes. As I said earlier the whole railway business we had with India was suspicious.

Reasons:-

1) The southern rail line is not up to the standard promised
2) The project was costly
3) No large scale benefits from the project except for the 100 Kmph speed tag
4) The DMU failed on it's maiden run (which hadn't happened before to any engine)

I am not even going to argue till some links / sources / proofs are posted. I can understand your India hatred but that is not sufficient for above claims. A world class country like Sri Lanka with world's # 1 railway operator must have a documented system for cause of accidents or railway projects in general. The world's biggest democracy that Sri Lanka is the documents must be accessible to public.

So please come up with something concrete. Malay's, Vietnamese and other countries who use Indian locos and bogies are not stupid.

 

[HeinzG]

I can understand your India hatred but that is not sufficient for above claims.

Hey I'm not Anti-Indian troll. What I'm trying to say is there is some kind of scam behind the S-11 deal.

So please come up with something concrete. Malay's, Vietnamese and other countries who use Indian locos and bogies are not stupid.

We have very reliable and very good Indian made engines and bogies namely WDM-2 and WDM-3

 

[shfgfa]

Reviving railways: ‘No plans to lease engines from India’


Pakistan Railways has no plans to obtain locomotives on lease from India, according to Divisional Superintendent Munawar Shah.
Talking to APP, he said that the Central Diesel Locomotive Workshop (CDLW) has repaired 117 engines during last one year, which will help improve railways’ efficiency.
“The workshop has overhauled 80 locomotives and repaired 37 engines from October 2011 to November 2012 and these have been handed over to different railway divisions, including Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Lahore, Multan, Sukkhar, Quetta and Karachi,” he said.
Last month, he said, the workshop overhauled 10 locomotives and as many would be repaired this month. The workshop was functioning to its full capacity round-the-clock and expressed the hope that Pakistan Railways would soon become a profit-earning entity.
Replying to a question, Munawar Shah said Pakistan Railways would soon be able to overcome its deficit and restore more trains in the future on several sections as locomotives were being rehabilitated on a monthly basis.
The government has approved the project “special repair of 150 running locomotives” under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) and the railways was trying to overcome a shortage of locomotives.

Dalian Locomotive supplies diesel locomotives to privately-funded railway


CNR Dalian Locomotive & Rolling Stock Company Ltd recently became the first supplier for China's longest privately-funded railway.

The company will provide 47 freight diesel locomotives for the railway, which stretches from Bayanwula in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region to Xinqiu, Fuxin city, Liaoning province. It is also the biggest order coming from a local railway for a domestic locomotive manufacturer.

The Bayanwula-Xinqiu Railway connecting western Liaoning province and the eastern Inner Mongolia autonomous region is 487.6 kilometers long. It is the longest railway in China funded by private capital.

The new Eurasian railway connecting China, Mongolia and Russia is currently in its track-laying stage and will be finished next July.

The Bayanwula-Xinqiu Railway will meet the Jining-Tongliao Railway and bring more market oppurtunities for rail transportation equipment manufacturers.

According to the contract, Dalian Locomotive will supply the rail line with 47 diesel locomotives, including 45 Dongfeng 4D diesel locomotives and two Dongfeng 4D diesel shunting locomotives with top speeds of 132 kilometers per hour.

 

[shfgfa]

Pakistan Railways plans to buy second hand locomotives from Korea

Pakistan Railways is planning to buy diesel locomotives from South Korea for what a five-member delegation of the ministry is already in Seoul to negotiate the deal.

The delegation is headed by General Manager Operation, Muhammad Junaid Qureshi and comprises Chief Mechanical Engineer (Locomotives) Mubeen ud Din, Deputy Chief Mechanical Engineer (Diesel) Rahat Mirza, Manager Works Zulifqar Sheikh and Deputy Chief Planning of Pakistan Railways Karachi Muhammad Yusuf, an official told APP on Monday.

He said that during their stay in South Korea, the railway official would visit locomotive manufacturing plants, inspect the proposed engines and hold necessary meetings to finalize the purchase.

The official said that South Korea had upgraded their railways network from diesel to electrifying system to control the environment threats.

He said that the Koreans have a sufficient stock of locomotives and have shown their interests to sale the diesel locomotives to Pakistan since these diesel locomotives are useless for them after running of locomotives on electricity.

The official said that on experimental basis South Korea may hand over five locomotives to Pakistan Railways free of cost that would follow the finalization of the deal.

He said these locomotives were manufactured by General Electric Company and available on cheap rates comparatively to the new ones available with United State of America and China made locomotives.

The official was of the view that after the successful deal, Pakistan Railways would be in a position to make operational all Korean locomotives after making necessary modification at Pakistan Railways Factory at Risalpur.

The railways, is facing serious problems due to shortage of locomotives and there are only 70 to 80 fully functional locomotives against the demand of around 400, he added.





Germany places order for up to 450 electric locomotives

GERMAN Rail (DB) announced on May 2 that it has agreed a framework contract with Bombardier for up to 450 Traxx electric locomotives over the next 10 years, which could be worth up €1.5bn if all options are exercised.

The deal includes immediate orders for 110 freight locomotives for DB Schenker and an additional 20 class 146 (P160AC2) units for DB Regio.

According to Bombardier, the contract can include any variant of the Traxx family, including AC, multi-system, and last-mile designs, together with an upgraded 189 km/h P189AC version of the current P160AC 160km/h Traxx AC passenger version.

All of the locomotives will be assembled at Bombardier's Kassel plant in Germany.

DB already has more than 700 Traxx locomotives in service or on order, with 27 class 146.5 (P160AC2) locomotives being built for DB Long Distance for delivery from this year plus another 32 class 146 (P160AC2) units for DB Regio, which will enter service from 2014.




Chinese-built locomotives fail Tanzania trial runs

Six locomotives bought by the Tanzania Zambia Railway Corporation (Tazara) using a $24 million loan from China are said to have failed several trial runs.

The engines were supposed to boost the corporation’s operations by increasing the tonnage hauled along the 1,860 kilometre stretch between Dar es Salaam and New Kapiri Mposhi in Zambia.

A source at Tazara said that during the first trial run, one of the engines developed technical problems at Mzenga, the first railway station on the Tazara line, just outside Dar es Salaam.

"These engines were delivered at the last Chinese holiday sometime in December; unfortunately none of them has passed a trial run,” the source said.

Tazara currently has nine old locomotives in operation.

Both regional offices of Tazara had been tasked to increase the amount of cargo they haul from 30,000 tonnes to 80,000 tonnes a month under the performance contracts signed by the regional managers in Tanzania and Zambia, but further delays in getting the locomotives operational is likely to hamper the achievement of these ambitious targets.

"Even after the Chinese technical team brought in a different team to look afresh at the locos, nothing worked. They tried running two engines that failed to make it past Mbeya and one of the engines has been abandoned at our workshop there,” said the source.

'Can't cope'

The $24 million paid for the locomotives is part of the $39 million that was given to the ailing railway company jointly owned by the Chinese government under the 14th Protocol of Economic and Technical Co-operation, signed by the governments of China, Tanzania and Zambia in December 2009.

Tanzania’s Minister for Transport, Harrison Mwakyembe, told The EastAfrican that the locomotives had been supplied after a Chinese company won the tender.

“I have been told about the technical problems, but you need to speak to our technicians and engineers who would be in a better position to explain in detail the technical problems. It appears the engines can’t cope with the Tazara terrain,” said Dr Mwakyembe.

According to Tazara’s head of public relations Conrad K. Simuchile, the corporation was aware the manufacturer was facing challenges in putting the new locomotives into operation, but said there was no need “at this stage to be overly concerned because the locomotives are going through a normal trial process after delivery.... and they are still fully in the hands of the manufacturer, who has ample time to rectify the defects, if any.”

The Tazara management last November announced the acquisition of the six new diesel electric (DE) mainline locomotives from China and the re-commissioning of two out of four heavy duty gantry cranes, which was seen as a major boost to the operations of Tazara.

Difficulties

The two projects marked a major step towards the completion of the implementation of capacity building projects under the Protocol. All projects under the 14th Protocol were originally scheduled for completion by the end of 2011, but encountered difficulties.

The six 3,000-horsepower DE locomotives were manufactured in China under licence from the General Electric Company of the US.

Over the years, Tazara has been receiving regular financial support from the Chinese government through what are termed “Protocols of Economic and Technical Co-operation” signed with Tanzania and Zambia in the form of interest-free loans, the 14th Protocol having been signed in December 2009, followed by the 15th protocol in March 2012.

These Protocols have been the major source of recapitalisation for Tazara over the years. At its peak, Tazara used to ferry an average of one million tonnes of cargo per year and over 600,000 passengers.

The “Uhuru Rail” as it is also referred to will now be actively involved in ferrying exports and imports from the DRC after Tazara, Zambia Railway and Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer du Congo (SNCC) signed an agreement that will see locomotives from the DRC ferry goods to the Zambian border at Sakania from where they will be connected to a Zambia Railways locomotive.

 

[shfgfa]

Historic Indian steam locos to run again in England amid extravaganza on weekend

Two historic engines, now in working order are scheduled to haul passenger trains on both days, with departures every 50 minutes from 10.40am to 3.40pm.

The serene county of Bedfordshire in East England will play host to Indian decorations, north Indian menu and a lot of visitors to welcome the run of two of India’s historic steam locomotives in their town that will run during the “Indian Extravaganza” this weekend on the Leighton Buzzard Railway, one of England’s finest narrow gauge lines.

Engine No 19 (no name!), the only steam locomotive from the famous Darjeeling Himalayan Railway to have left India, and No 778, which was built in the USA for the First World War battlefields, and then spent over 60 years working in sugar mills in Uttar Pradesh on secondary railways in India. The two historic engines, now in working order are scheduled to haul passenger trains on both days, with departures every 50 minutes from 10.40am to 3.40pm.

“When they will run over the weekend, 5th and 6th May, the Leighton Buzzard Railway will be transformed into a little piece of India. The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Society will decorate Leighton Buzzard’s Page’s Park station in the style of northern India,” Mervyn Leah, spokesperson of the Leighton Buzzard Railway told DNA.

India’s Minister of state for railways Adhir Rajan Choudhary and railway board executive director (heritage) Manu Goyal will be visiting the event on Sunday, along with Monisha Rajesh, the author of “Around India In 80 Trains.”

On both days, there will be genuine Indian cuisine on offer in the Page’s Park station buffet, provided by Mum’s Kitchen of Watford. At Stonehenge Works, the “country” end of the line, the newly completed miniature track will feature on both days working scale models of locomotives which have run on the Darjeeling railway, past and present.

“Our links with the narrow-gauge railways of India go back over 40 years, and we are delighted to be offering once again the opportunity for others to share our enthusiasm,” Leah added.

 

[shfgfa]

Indian Railways issues RFQ for diesel loco plant

INDIA's Ministry of Railways has invited requests for qualification (RFQ) to establish a new diesel locomotive factory at Marhowra, in the Saran district of Bihar province.

The winning bidder will be expected to set up the plant and produce and maintain 1000 diesel locomotives with power ratings of 3.4MW and 4.5MW over an 11-year period as well as maintain a specified number of mainline diesel electric locomotives.

The RFQ follows government approval on May 1 to proceed with the Marhowra factory as well as an electric locomotive plant at Madhepura, also in Bihar, an RFQ for which is expected to follow shortly, following the breakdown of a previous call for tenders in 2009. The Madhepura plant is expected to manufacture 800 8.94MW electric locomotives over 10 years.

The government anticipates significant international investment in the factories which will be established as joint ventures between Indian Railways and the winning bidder. General Electric, Alstom, Bombardier and Siemens were previously shortlisted for the electric locomotive contract, while a GE-Bharat Heavy Electricals joint venture was set to compete with Electro Motive Diesel for the diesel contract.

The controversial projects were first proposed as public-private partnership as long ago as 2006 but broke down during the bidding process in 2009 after the ministry attempted to alter the terms of the bidding documents. Local media considers the decision to site both plants in Bihar as politically motivated ahead of next year's general election.

The ministry plans to pre-qualify and shortlist suitable applicants for the diesel contract with the RFQ available for download from its website and obtainable from its headquarters in Delhi. The deadline for submissions is 1130 on June 20.

GE to build locomotives for Mozambique in SA

GENERAL Electric (GE), the Chicago-based transport, healthcare and industrial conglomerate, plans to build locomotives for Angola and Mozambique in South Africa, a move that will see the company extending its existing relationship with Transnet Engineering (TE).

This was according to Tim Schweikert, president and CEO of GE Transportation for Southern Africa, on Wednesday.

GE is partnering with TE, the train-building unit of state-owned freight and logistics group Transnet, to build heavy-haul locomotives at the former’s vast Koedoespoort factory outside Pretoria. An existing contract to produce 143 locomotives for Transnet Freight Rail comes to an end next month.

The manufacturing of trains in South Africa to supply other African countries is a small step towards realising the dream fostered by the Department of Public Enterprises, Transnet’s shareholder, of reviving South Africa’s rail engineering industry and deepening industrial development in South Africa.

Through Transnet’s competitive supplier development programme GE has, through a phased process, transferred modern train-building know-how and technology to TE, while at the same time developing a base of local suppliers for the components needed to build a locomotive.

Last week Transnet Engineering (TE) GM for strategy and marketing, Thoba Majoka, said TE and GE were in discussions to find replacement work for the contract once it was concluded.

The TE production line, Mr Majoka said, was about two months ahead, which made it the only GE locomotive production line in the world running ahead of schedule. TE has won praise from GE for the quality of the locomotives that have been produced in South Africa for their high reliability and availability.

Mr Schweikert said the programme with TE had been "very successful" with high levels of local sourcing achieved and 52,000 hours training.

Being able to source and produce locomotives locally for the African market were great advantages for GE when sourcing business on the continent.

"With Africa’s economic growth, which has tripled since 2000, GE is very bullish on Africa. We see it as a last big eco frontier and we are looking at building our capabilities in Africa," he said.

GE "already had a really good partnership with TE" on the TFR contract "but we are also building and exporting out of South Africa, we have our first contract with CFM in Mozambique", he said.

The order for 10 locomotives from CFM, which is Transnet’s counterpart in Mozambique, would be built at TE’s Koedoespoort plant, he said.

A further 15 locomotives for the Angolan government would also be built by TE, Mr Schweikert said. This order is the first part of what is a larger agreement for a total 100 locomotives from Angola, which was being finalised, he said.

"The other bid project we are working on is in Nigeria — with the memorandum of understanding in Nigeria (they are) looking for a broader solution (than just selling locomotives)," Mr Schweikert said, adding there was "a localisation element to it".

GE is one of the global rail giants hoping to win the tender to supply 465 diesel locomotives to TFR, which are being ordered to support the Transnet Group’s seven-year market demand strategy aimed at boosting its capacity and stimulate economic activity.

 

[shfgfa]

Amtrak replaces 30-year old locomotives with high-efficiency 8,600 hp electric models

A bit late for National Train Day, Amtrak is getting some nice new high-efficiency toys. They will replace locomotives that have been in service for 25-35 years with 70 new Amtrak Cities Sprinter (ACS-64) made by Siemens. The company writes: "The new locomotives will operate on Northeast Regional trains at speeds up to 125 mph on the Northeast Corridor (NEC) along the Washington – New York – Boston route and on Keystone Service trains at speeds up to 110 mph on the Keystone Corridor from Philadelphia to Harrisburg, Pa. In addition, all long-distance trains operating on the NEC will be powered by the new locomotives."
Each ACS-64 has motors that can reach a peak of 8,600 hp (6.4 MW) and can pull 18 cars at a service speed of 125 mph!
Being electric, they have regenerative braking like electric cars and hybrids, but the amount of juice they can return to the power grid (5 MW!) is orders of magnitude higher than anything an EV has to deal with. And the cleaner the power grid gets, the cleaner the operation of these locomotives will be.

Siemens and Amtrak estimate that over the next 20 years, these 70 new electric locomotives could save $300 million and 3 billion kWh thanks to their higher efficiency.

“The new Amtrak locomotives will help power the economic future of the Northeast region, provide more reliable and efficient service for passengers and support the rebirth of rail manufacturing in America,” said Amtrak President and CEO Joseph Boardman. “Built on the West Coast for service in the Northeast with suppliers from many states, businesses and workers from across the country are helping to modernize the locomotive fleet of America’s Railroad.”