New freight and freight-passenger locomotives delivered to Uzbekistan from China were presented yesterday, Uzbekistan Railways (UTY) said in a statement.
In total, 30 electric locomotives of the Chinese state holding company China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC Group) will be added to the UTY’s locomotive fleet, with 12 to be delivered by the end of this year and 18 more in 2021.
According to the chief of Uzbekistan Railways, Khusnutdin Khosilov, this is the fourth generation of electric locomotives, the assembly of which was carried out by order of the railway carrier of Uzbekistan, taking into account the climatic conditions of the region and its geographic features with difficult mountainous terrain.
The two-section - 8-axle cargo-passenger (9,600 kW) and 12-axle freight (14,400 kW) locomotives are more powerful. The service life of each locomotive is 40 years.
"The new 30 electric locomotives will be operated by 120 drivers and 120 driver assistants," said Umid Khursandov, a driver-instructor for automatic brakes at the locomotive depot.
He added that the new electric locomotives are completely computerized and, in comparison with previous generations, are quite easy to operate. They are equipped with modern security and diagnostic systems. “For example, if an equipment malfunction is detected, a corresponding message is displayed on the on-board computer monitor, with the ways to eliminate indicated here,” he explained.
To date over 50% of the available locomotives have been renewed in the locomotive fleet of Uzbekistan Railways.
