Recent tenders and deliveries in the locomotive markets.
Kazakhstan — National operator Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ) has taken delivery of 67 CKD6S shunting locomotives and 83 TE36A mainline units. Both models have been arriving since 2024 under a pair of contracts with China’s CRRC, each covering 100 locomotives, built at CRRC’s plant in Ziyang. The CKD6S shunters are already at work in Pavlodar, Ekibastuz, Astana, Karaganda, Zhanaarka and Balkhash.
Georgia — Georgian Railway (GR) has launched a tender for 45 two-section DC freight electric locomotives, worth $350 mln in total. The package covers 12 years of servicing and a new depot at Khashuri. Bidders can offer either 45 four-axle (2o-2o) locomotives built as two-section units, or 90 single-section machines capable of multiple-unit working. The procurement forms part of the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor and is backed by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. All units must be delivered within 4.5 years of signature, and bids close at the end of October.
ET44AC mainline locomotive in the CPKC fleet. Source: David Hawkins/railpictures
Canada — Wabtec has handed over the last of 170 ET44AC mainline locomotives ordered by the freight operator CPKC, under a contract signed in 2024. The first 100 arrived last year. The ET44AC’s four-stroke engine meets Tier 4 requirements, cutting NOx emissions by 76% and particulate matter by 70%. CPKC is renewing its fleet alongside Progress Rail too, with 30 of a planned 65 SD70ACe-T4 freight locomotives due in the second half of the year. Altogether, the operator has committed more than $800 mln to new US-built power.
Indonesia — Progress Rail has wrapped up delivery of 54 GT38AC locomotives, with the final unit handed over to state operator PT KAI and put into service. Built for 1,067 mm gauge track, the six-axle locomotives run on two-stroke eight-cylinder EMD 710G3A engines rated at 1,490 kW and can burn biofuel blends. The $222.4 mln contract for 54 locomotives was signed in 2024, and PT KAI had already taken 91 GT38ACs between 2011 and 2021.
GT38AC mainline locomotive in the PT KAI fleet. Source: Progress Rail
Czech Republic — National operator ČD has scrapped a tender for up to 30 hybrid two-section locomotives after receiving just one bid, from Siemens Mobility. Siemens priced the firm order of 10 locomotives at CZK 1.7 bln (€70.2 mln) and the 20-unit option at a further CZK 3.6 bln (€148.7 mln) — together more than CZK 1 bln (€41.3 mln) over the tender’s original budget. The specification called for locomotives able to draw power from the overhead line and from an alternative source, such as a diesel engine or batteries.
