Argentina: The Ministry of Transport has selected the international division of the Russian manufacturer – TMH International – as the winner of the tender for the supply and maintenance of 70 electric trains in 8-car configuration (560 cars) for the 1676 mm gauge.
The cost of the contract should be $864 million. The sources of financing should be worked out in the short term by the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Economy of Argentina. A special modification of the EG2Tv “Ivolga” EMU for Argentinian railway will be designed by the TMH Engineering center. The final assembly and production of some components will be organized at the TMH site in Argentina, the level of local production should be 25%. Also, the Tver Carriage Works (production site of TMH in Russia) will be involved in the trains manufacturing. It is assumed that the implementation of the contract will allow Argentina to create 1.5 thousand new direct and indirect jobs.
The deliveries are expected to begin 27 months after the contract will come into force and be completed within 4 years. The trains will be involved in commuter traffic between Buenos Aires and the satellite cities.
The tender for the supply of EMUs was announced in September 2017 and initially assumed the supply of 169 trains in 8-car configuration (1352 cars) with a total cost of $2 bln. The technical documentation indicated the requirement to design rolling stock in accordance with UIC and EN standards. Deliveries were to last from the second half of 2020 until 2023. It was planned that the winner would ensure the localization of components at the level of 20% by investing $300 mln in this project and creating up to 2,000 jobs in the country.
In the summer of 2018, the volume was reduced to 70 trains as part of an agreement with the International Monetary Fund, which included budget cuts in exchange for financial assistance. At the end of 2018, three potential bidders were identified: TMH, Alstom and the Vermerkiper Engineering from Argentina.
Repair of a CRRC locomotive by TMH at the Mechita depot, Argentina. Source: enelsubte.com
TMH already takes place in Argentina. In 2018, the Russian manufacturer won a $29.7 mln contract to repair 24 SDD7 diesel locomotives and 160 Chinese passenger coaches produced by CRRC and operated in Argentina. The work was carried out for two years at the Retiro and Mechita depots.
