Latest news about railway rolling stock contracts and procurements.
GATX, a leading rolling stock leasing company, has announced the purchase of 156 locomotives from Progress Rail (Caterpillar). The two companies do not disclose details of the deal. Currently, GATX Rail North America’s fleet consists of 500 diesel locomotives produced between 1970 and 1990 by American EMD (acquired by Caterpillar in 2010).
The EMD GP38-2 diesel locomotive in the GATX livery in California. Source: Morven/wikipedia
Alpha Trains, a European leasing company, has ordered up to 70 Vectron electric locomotives of various modifications from Siemens Mobility. The framework contract includes a firm part for 35 vehicles which are to be produced at the manufacturer’s site in Munich-Allach by the end of 2026. The current Alpha Trains’ fleet includes more than 80 Vectrons.
Bengaluru is seeking funding for the purchase of 51 trains (306 cars) for a new suburban railway which is now being built. K-RIDE, the Karnataka state rail infrastructure development company in charge of the project, has requested equal financing worth INR 42.7 bln ($508.5 mln) from local and central budgets. The company also expects to attract investment of foreign banks. Previously, K-RIDE planned to take a credit loan for the purchase of rolling stock on public private partnership terms. The quotes were requested from Spanish CAF and Indian BEML and BHEL, but all the manufacturers refused to cooperate without government guarantees.
The Vande Metro train produced in India. Source: Arjun Arvind/wikipedia
Ukrainian Railways (Ukrzaliznytsia) has published a tender for the delivery of ten battery shunting locomotives. The locomotives are required to have an axle load of no more than 16 tf and tractive effort of minimum 150 kN, and also be able to haul trainsets weighing more than 3,000 t (for the straight track profile). The vehicles must be equipped with a built-in charger, while the battery capacity must be more than 2,500 A⋅h. The procurement is financed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Earlier, Ukrainian Railways has also received approval for loans from international organisations to purchase 80 electric and 40 diesel locomotives.
