Railway engines of different countries

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PAKISTAN BLACKLISTS CHINESE LOCO FIRM

As PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, after being elected leader of the house, was unveiling his plan in parliament to improve rail and road links with China, the ministry of railways was blacklisting a Chinese firm that was to supply it 75 locomotives under an agreement signed in 2008.

Mr Sharif informed the house that during the last month’s visit of Prime Minister Li Keqiang, he (Sharif) discussed a proposed plan to build rail and road links from Kashgar to Gwadar port with the Chinese leader.

Contrarily, the ministry was informing the Chinese firm: “As you have failed to fulfil the contractual obligations against the subject contract, you are hereby blacklisted till further orders,” through a letter (No DP/75 DEL/2012, dated June 5, 2013).

“The transition of power was underway and the ministry made the policy decision it was not authorised to,” a source in the railways ministry told Dawn on Tuesday. The `Buyer credit loan agreement No BLA 0922’ was singed on Dec 14, 2009, between the Export-Import Bank of China as lender and Ministry of Railways, Government of Pakistan, as borrower, in order to execute an agreement signed between Islamabad and Beijing for the provision of 75 locomotives to the Pakistan Railways on credit basis.

Quoting the agreement, the source said Pakistan Railways (PR) had given the undertaking that all governmental approvals had been obtained and that railways would not cancel or terminate the 75 locomotives contract signed in 2008, without prior consent of China Exim Bank in black and white.

“During the caretaker set up, some elements in the ministry got an opportunity to materialise their nefarious design to annoy a time-tested friend China while ignoring the diplomatic and economic repercussions of the move,” said the source.

PR had entered into several agreements with Chinese railway companies for its development and modernisation of its outdated system. In 2001, PR signed a $91.89 million contract with China National Machinery Import and Export Corp for the manufacture of 175 new high-speed passenger coaches. Exim Bank China funded the project on a supplier credit basis.

Under a transfer of technology (ToT) agreement signed with China in 2003, Pakistan Railways procured 69 locomotives that were assembled at its Risalpur locomotive factory. The locomotives were purchased on suppliers' credit basis with funding provided by Exim Bank China through the Dongfang Electric Corporation.

“The coaches and locomotives provided by China on credit basis are being utilised to operate mail and express trains on Rawalpindi-Lahore-Karachi, Lahore-Faisalabad and Rawalpindi-Quetta sections of the PR.

“In fact, more than 70 per cent of the rail traffic -- both passenger and freight -- on the Karachi-Peshawar main line is being hauled by locomotives delivered to the PR by the Chinese firm that was black-listed,” said the source

 

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Indian Railway to install newly-built diesel locomotives with fuel-saving device

In yet another technological improvement and upgradation, Indian railways has now decided to install a new fuel-saving device called Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) in diesel locomotives which will result in saving of more than Rs 20 lakh per locomotive annually.
A railway official said, "To begin with, this device has been installed in twelve existing diesel locomotives through retro-fitment. In future, Indian railways plan to fit APU on 100 per cent in newly-built diesel locomotives which will then result in saving of more than Rs 60 crore annually in future. Use of APU also results in lower CO2 emission and other pollutants like HC, NOx, CO etc."

Due to a large number of trains, moving on limited track, some trains have to wait for path or for giving precedence to other trains. Locomotives of these trains remain in idle condition because of the requirement to provide compressed air for train brake which is supplied by compressor driven by engine and to charge the locomotive battery. In order to save fuel during idling, Indian railways is providing a system called Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) in diesel locomotives.

In APU System, main engine shuts down and small 25hp engine starts, and charges batteries and air brake pipes, when the train is idle for more than 10 minutes. The diesel engine of APU consumes only three litres of diesel per hour in comparison to 25 litres by the main engine. Expected savings per locomotives fitted with APU is Rs 20 lakh per year on account of saving in fuel oil.

APU is a self-contained unit containing a small diesel engine coupled to a compressor and alternator for battery charging. It has its own set of controls, accessories and is integrated to the existing microprocessor control system of locomotive.



PR to get used locomotives: what about new ones!

The Pakistan Railways (PR) will float international tender for obtaining used locomotives on lease and deferred payment basis. An official of the PR told APP that the maintenance of these locomotives would be the responsibility of the successful bidder during the contract period. To a question, he said, the contract agreement for procurement of 58 (3000/2000 horse power) diesel-electric locomotives amounting to US $ 48.431 million has been signed to M/s CSR Ziyang, China on 07-12-2012. He said locomotive were scheduled to be arrived here by the end of November, 2013 to June, 2014, he added. To a question, he said, there was no proposal under consideration to ply new trains during the current financial year 2013-2014. The Pakistan Railways was operating 208 passenger trains in the year 2010-2011 which were reduced to 74, however, due to restoration of 22 trains the figure at present is 96 passenger trains per day. The official said the Pakistan Railways would try to create balance among passenger and freight operations in future. At the present, the Pakistan Railways is only planning to enhance the number of freight trains in the fiscal year 2013-2014.



Railway ministry cancels locomotives order from China

Pakistan Railways (PR) has canceled locomotive purchase order from China after series of complaints.
The decision was taken by Railways Ministry after a report was submitted by PR officials. Chinese firm involved in the deal has also been blacklisted.
According to audit report for the fiscal 2012-13, 64 out of 69 locomotives purchased from China in 2002 were found faulty and out of order and are lying idle in Railways Workshop. Ministry of Railway had to suffer colossal loss of billion of rupees due to supply of faulty locomotives by Chinese firm.
Railway authorities had repeatedly asked the then railway minister Javed Ashraf Qazi not to strike this deal but he did not agree and signed the agreement as per his personal desire plunging railways into horrendous financial crisis.
The erstwhile PPP led government also placed order with the same Chinese firm to supply 75 locomotives to Pakistan but railway minister Khawaja Saad Rafiq has revoked the order.
Khawaja Saad Rafiq said that corruption will not be tolerated in Railways and corruption cases pertaining to purchase of railway engines will be handed over to NAB


India to switch completely to fuel Injection system for locomotives


Indian Railways are in the process of developing a highly fuel efficient system for its fleet of diesel locomotives, a move which will help the PSU behemoth save about Rs 500-600 crore annually on fuel bill and reduce emissions by 30 per cent.

Research Development Standard Organisation (RDSO), the research wing of railways is developing the Common Rail Electronic Direct Fuel Injection (CReDI) system for diesel locomotives, said a senior Railway Ministry official.

A joint venture between an Indian manufacturer and a Swiss firm has been established for design and development of the system under overall supervision of RDSO for the purpose.

Fuel savings in the range of 3 to 4 per cent and emissions reductions by about 20-30 per cent are expected through the system.

"Once the systems are implemented on the complete fleet of locomotives, railways will save about Rs 500-600 crore annually on fuel bill," said the official, adding "Besides Railways many other industries of India stand to gain from these developments."

Railways fuel bill is estimated to be around Rs 9000 cr in a year.

In the long-term, complete manufacture, assembly and testing of the CReDI system shall be done here, placing India among the few countries possessing design and manufacturing capabilities for such sophisticated systems for large bore engines like locomotives, marine, trucks and battle tanks.

 

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China resumes tenders for high-speed trains

China has reopened tenders for high-speed trains worth an estimated $8.2 billion, lifting a suspension imposed after a crash that killed dozens of passengers in 2011 and signalling a new phase of construction in the country's vast railway network.

State-owned giant China Railway Investment Corp (CRIC) said it had opened tenders for 91 bullet trains with a speed of 250 kilometres (155 miles) per hour.

The move marks the start of another wave of construction in the world's largest high-speed railway and indicates that the government feels public confidence in the network has recovered from the accident which killed at least 32 people in eastern Zhejiang province.

The railway investment firm said it opened the tenders on behalf of five Chinese regional railway bureaus of Nanchang, Chengdu, Nanning, Wuhan and Shanghai.

"Funds for purchases of these trains have already been reserved," it said in a statement.

The tenders are open only to China-based train makers which have licences for manufacturing high-speed trains, it added.

Local media estimated that the tenders would be worth more than 50 billion yuan ($8.2 billion), including trains, locomotives and supplementary equipment.

China's top two locomotive makers - China CSR Corp and China CNR Corp - are the two firms most likely to benefit from the new contracts, the media said.

"The tenders are only the first and will surely be followed by others over time," the official Shanghai Securities News said in a report on Friday.

China's cabinet announced last month that it would widen funding channels to speed railway investment, among a slew of other measures to boost the sharply slowing growth of the world's second largest economy.

The State Council decided to set up a railway development fund, with initial money from the central government but also trying to attract contributions from private investors.

The Zhejiang crash led to allegations of massive corruption, the arrest of the head of the railways ministry and eventually the break-up of the ministry's functions into separate commercial and regulatory agencies.

Dismal Bangladesh Railway services

As the journey by road has become both hazardous and torturous, more and more people now readily prefer the railway for short- and long-distance journey. But the Bangladesh Railway (BR), as the available indicators suggest, has neither the capacity nor the desire to improve the quality of its services in order to carry all types of passengers to their destinations. Previously, there were complaints that the allocations made under the annual development programmes (ADPs) had not been enough to enhance the capacity and improve the quality of the BR's passenger services. That might have been partly true. But the situation, if the allocation under the ADPs remains a yardstick, was altogether different during the last four fiscal years (FYs).

According to a report published in this paper last Monday, the incumbent government, during the first four years of its tenure, had allocated a sum of Tk 103.71 billion for the BR. The amount was more than what the organisation had received during the previous decade. Obviously, the government's intention behind greater allocations had been to increase the BR's passenger-carrying capacity and improve its quality of service. But, sadly enough, the affairs of the BR which are now being managed and supervised by a full minister, have failed to achieve either of the government's pious objectives. It has not been able to increase the number of locomotives and passenger coaches and wagons. Nor could it improve the quality of its services.

Most BR coaches are worn-out and give a repulsive look. Seats and floors of passengers' compartments remain, in most cases, dirty and their ill-maintained toilets emit stinking smell. The conditions of upper class coaches are relatively better but remain still far from what other modes of transports offer. To be honest, the quality of service offered by the long-distance buses in the country has reached a new height over the years. But the BR is holding onto its past tradition which is disliked most by the travelling public. The state-owned railway is reportedly yet to complete a large development project, taken up in FY 2007-08 and funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Even repeated reminders from the Manila-based multilateral donor could not motivate the BR to expedite the work of the project. The implementation of many other projects that are intended to help increase the BR's capacity has also been extremely slow.

While the BR has failed to rise up to the expectations of the people and other stakeholders, there have been allegations of corruption and other irregularities at all levels of its operation galore. It is considered to be one of the top graft-ridden state-owned entities. The sensational seizure of a BR vehicle, carrying a sack full of 'bribe' money along with some BR officials at the headquarters of the Bangladesh Border Guard (BGB), sometime back was a glaring example of how deep the rot has gone into this important national organisation. Lately, allegations of irregularities in the procurement of Demu trains and passenger coaches from China and India have also surfaced.

The BR has a great potential to transform itself into a high profit-earning organisation. But to achieve that feat, the personnel who are managing the affairs of this important mode of transportation, would have to work sincerely to increase the capacity for carrying more passengers and goods and improving its quality of services. When there is ready demand for its services from both passengers and businesses, there should have no reasons for the BR not to flourish. What the situation demands from the government and the BR authorities are proper planning and its timely and expeditious execution.

 

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Hyundai Rotem Eager to Participate in Trans-Eurasian Railway Construction Project

Hyundai Rotem is about to participate in the construction of the Trans-Eurasian Railway. The company is going to enter the Russian railway market in earnest and make use of every opportunity.

Hyundai Rotem announced on September 8 that the top management of UralVagonZovod (UVZ), a Russian heavy machinery and cargo train manufacturer, will visit its plant and research center in Changwon City, South Gyeongsang Province, to discuss mutual cooperation on the project.

UVZ is a company fully owned by the Russian government, with 70,000 employees and sales of US$6 billion in 2012. Its meeting with Hyundai Rotem at this time is to talk about cooperating on the construction of a local plant and technology transfer for the Trans-Eurasian Railway Project.

“We’ve decided to join the project full scale through our cooperation with Russia and set up detailed plans,” said the Korean company, adding, “We’re planning to take a leading role in the design of train cars, supply of necessary equipment and system engineering while co-manufacturing train vehicles with our Russian counterpart.” The company also mentioned that the assembly and manufacturing of train cars could be underway in North Korea if the North agreed to the connection of the networks.

Hyundai Rotem is planning to make use of this opportunity for Trans-Korean Railway (TKR) construction. The Trans-Eurasian Railway is to connect the 9,297km-long railroad tracks of the Trans-Siberian section to the European Railway that links Moscow with London. If the TKR is built to connect Busan City and Najin in North Korea, people and goods can be transported by train from Busan all the way to London.

“One of the Korean government’s foremost goals is to shore up cooperation between Russia and Korea in the Eurasia region,” said President Park Geun-hye at her summit talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on September 6. She continued, “I hope that there will be a rail network departing from Busan and heading for Europe via Russia.” The same idea has been suggested by Hyundai Motor Group chairman Chung Mong-koo, too. He recently remarked, “We can save a lot of cost and time by exporting our cars to Europe by means of the Trans-Siberian Railway.”

In the meantime, Hyundai Rotem is preparing to make inroads into Russia in various fields. It is currently working on high-speed and long-range locomotives that suit local environments, and is preparing to participate in the US$4.2 billion bid for the 2,500 subway cars, and US$400 million bid for the 231 circular railway cars to be in operation from 2015 in Moscow.

China will build Kenya's new rail line

More than a century ago, British engineers and their indentured African and Indian laborers spent five years carving a railroad through what would become Kenya, in a bid to open up East Africa’s interior to trade.

Along the way, close to 2,500 workers died, struck down by malaria, attacked by man-eating lions, or overcome by exhaustion.

By the time the 660-mile track reached the shores of Lake Victoria in 1901, the massively over-budget endeavor had earned the nickname “the lunatic express.”

In Beijing Monday, a deal was struck to bring Chinese railway builders to try the project all over again, constructing a new track from Kenya’s Indian Ocean coast to its western border with Uganda. And as before, the aim is to boost business.

Uhuru Kenyatta, Kenya’s president, was in China to meet with Xi Jinping, the country’s premier. The pair inked $5 billion worth of agreements that will see China fund new projects on energy, infrastructure, and wildlife protection.

On top of the agenda, alongside plans for new hydro-dams and seaport expansions, Mr. Kenyatta’s advisors say, was finalizing the plans for the new railway, which is expected to swallow up the majority of the new financing.

The rail left by the British was rendered almost derelict by decades of state-sponsored looting at Kenya Railways under former president Daniel arap Moi, forcing almost all freight onto already clogged and potholed roads.

Of 1,700 miles of track operational in the 1950s, no more than 700 is in use today, and locomotives rarely manage average speeds above 20 miles per hour even on the best sections.

“We welcome the investment in key sectors of our economy,” Kenyatta said in a statement late Monday from Beijing.

“The rail link, particularly, is important in the context of East Africa’s shared goal of ensuring quicker movement of peoples, goods and services.”

Prime Minister Xi added that his country “supports Kenya’s quest for industrialization.”

“In many ways, China’s engagement with Africa today is very similar to the British engagement in the past – railways, roads, bridges, major infrastructure,” says Aly-Khan Satchu, a Kenyan economic analyst.

Massive construction projects to boost Africa’s development have fallen out of favor with the continent’s long-time donors in the West.

At the same time, Kenyatta’s looming trial at the International Criminal Court, where he denies charges of crimes against humanity, have made traditional allies, many of them in the West, nervous of significant new aid investments in Kenya.

China, which has remained mute on Kenyatta’s indictments, has no such qualms.

In an op-ed published on a Kenyan news site last week, Liu Guangyuan, China’s ambassador to Kenya, gushed that “the Chinese government and people are eagerly expecting the arrival of President Kenyatta.”

“China-Kenya friendship has become the treasure of both peoples,” Mr. Liu wrote, adding, “We are a community of destiny with similar historical experiences and values. Our respective dreams are tightly linked with each other.”

For his part, Kenyatta picked up the baton of mutual admiration, tweeting as he landed in Beijing late Sunday, “Arriving in China. China’s importance to Africa cannot be underrated. China is our biggest partner in development.”

Chinese organizations including automobile manufacturers, television stations, and even academic institutions are all now established in Kenya. An English-language edition of the China Daily is printed in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital.

And there is no doubt that repairs to roads and rebuilt railways will help Kenya’s economy to continue its already-healthy growth, currently averaging 5 percent a year.

An improved train link could cut the costs of shifting freight across East Africa by 79 percent, according to Kenyan government calculations.

But critics point out that trade with China is currently almost entirely one way.

Kenya exported some $50 million of produce to China in 2012, compared to buying $1.8 billion worth of Chinese goods, according to Kenya’s trade ministry.

The concern is that Kenyatta’s very obvious shift away from the West – he visited Russia in the days before arriving in Beijing – may alienate traditional trading partners and his pro-East rhetoric may put off new US or European investors.

“Kenyatta feels he needs to re-balance towards China in particular,” says Mr. Satchu. “It’s clear why – China is Mr. Moneybags, and we need loads of money to leapfrog our infrastructure to modern standards.

“But the President’s tone and language have been seen as quite dismissive to Kenya’s old friends. It might be better to take a more multilateral approach.”

For Charles Nderitu, a Nairobi businessman exporting sugar to Dubai from cane fields in Kenya’s west, all such discussions are academic.

“I’m looking at the bottom line, and if I can move my produce along some new fast cheap railway instead of by lorries [trucks] that cost so much and are always breaking down, I don’t care who builds that railway,” he says.

“It worked for the colonialists when they opened it before. Now it’s time to rebuild it so that it works for us Kenyans.”

 

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Foreign Firms Compete For Russia's Locomotive Market

Siemens and its Russian manufacturing partner, Sinara, presented a new freight locomotive on Wednesday at the 1520 International Railway Exhibition on the territory of the Russian Railway Research Institute in Shcherbinka near Moscow.

The locomotive, currently known as Project 11201, will be produced by Ural Locomotives, a joint venture of the two companies.

Although suitable for use across all countries that have 1520 millimeter gauge railroads, the 11201 is mostly intended as a replacement for the old rolling stock of Russian Railways, given that their investment program stays at the current level of spending.

If the government's plans to freeze natural monopoly prices for next year were implemented, Russian Railways would lose about 77 billion rubles ($2.3 billion), a source in the top management of the company told Interfax on Wednesday. Also, the company's investment program, which was planned for next year at 360 billion rubles, could be cut by as much as a third, the source said, the agency reported.

At the same time, Russian Railways badly needs new rolling stock as keeping the existing one running is costly.

"Our locomotives are 70 to 80 percent worn-out, and depreciation payments are soaring. This is why we need new machines," said Russian Railways senior vice president Vadim Morozov.

He said the company intended to buy about 800 locomotives of all types this year, but did not disclose how many of them would be of the 11201 type.

Morozov also said the exhibit was a good place to present competitive models.

One of them was the 2ES5 electric freight locomotive, showcased by Alstom Transport and its Russian partner, Transmashholding (TMH).

It was designed by TRTrans, a joint TMH and Alstom engineering center, and is produced at a factory in Novocherkassk in the Rostov region.

Speaking about possible competition on the locomotive market between the Alstom-TMH partnership and their rivals, Siemens-Sinara, Alstom Transport president Henri Poupart-Lafarge said the two electric freight locomotives do not have the same technical parameters.

"But how much of each type will be ordered is for the customer to decide," he said.

So far, Russian Railways has ordered 200 2ES5 freight locomotives.

Siemens and its rival Alstom, together with their Russian partners, also compete on the high-speed train market, for which the country has extensive plans.

That latest plan declared by top government officials was to build a high-speed railroad from Moscow to Kazan, which would require new trains.

Both Alstom and Siemens are ready to supply their products for the project, but Russian Railways president Vladimir Yakunin said earlier that the company would opt for the manufacturer, who came close to full localization of its production within the country.

In an earlier interview with The Moscow Times, Dietrich Moeller, Siemens president for Russia and Central Asia, said the company was prepared to have 80 percent of its Lastochka regional trains localized in Russia by 2017.

Alstom could go even farther, Henri Poupart-Lafarge said.

"We already have 100 percent localization of our locomotive production in the country, what can stop us from doing the same with high-speed trains?

 

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PR executing project for rehabilitation of HGMU-30 locomotives

Pakistan Railways, as part of measures to improve its overall performance, is executing a project for rehabilitation of HGMU-30 locomotives, as five locomotives are expected to be rolled out and will be available by June next.
Two locomotives per month after that will be rehabilitated and inducted in freight operation.
According to the Department, a separate project - Special Repair of 150 Running Locomotives - was got approved during 2012-13 under Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) as it will decrease the burden of locomotive maintenance on revenue budget.
It has also inducted GMU-30 locomotives in its system by to help generate revenue of Rs.4.416 million per annum by transportation of oil.
The operation of freight trains has been restored to the extent of operation of two trains on daily basis from Karachi Port to up-country.
It is expected that these trains will be increased to 8-10 on daily basis on availability of locomotives at the end of current financial year.
It said in case of offering of less oil traffic, Pakistan Railways will focus on operation of container trains to generate revenue of Rs.3.8 billion per annum.
The revenue earning during July 2013 has increased to the tune of Rs.178.724 million over the corresponding period of previous financial year i.e July 2012. The increase in earnings is mainly due to reduction in fares of passenger trains.
Punctuality of trains has been improved by 3% in July 2013 and constantly being observed while efforts are also underway to improve the punctuality further with availability of fit locomotives.
All non-productive expenses have been stopped and expenditures are being incurred in accordance with available resources i.e revenue generation and government subsidy.
The incurrence of expenditures other than salary/pension, fuel and utilities are subject to cash release by Ministry of Railways.
The officers, presently, on long-leave have been called back to join their assignments in their respective fields while dedicated officers are being posted on important operational posts to increase the efficiency of Pakistan Railways.

Texmaco may get into manufacture of locomotives in India

Wagon manufacturer Texmaco Rail & Enginering Ltd (TREL) may start manufacturing locomotives. Saroj Poddar, Chairman of TREL, told Business Line that the company planned to go in for a technical collaboration with an overseas company within three years for the project.

“We are working towards the direction of manufacturing new generation locomotives (railway freight cars and coaches). We have identified the technological partner and have, in-principle, decided for a collaborative partnership”, Poddar said. He, however, clarified that a formal agreement has yet to be signed with the proposed partner.

“Since the negotiations are under a secrecy clause, further details cannot be disclosed at this point in time”, Poddar explained.

RAILWAYS’ ORDERS

TREL has a 50:50 export-oriented joint venture project with Australia’s UGL Rail for manufacture of locomotive components and sub-assemblies. The plant is north of the city and near Texmaco’s existing facilities.

The proposed project would be independent of the joint venture, Poddar said.

During the first half of FY14, Texmaco has largely been manufacturing wagons for export and the domestic private sector. “The order from Railways has not been forthcoming. We are trying to reduce our dependence on the Railways. We are optimistic about the future of order flow from the Railways as well as private sector as economic downturn appears to be ending”, he added.

Ramesh Maheshwari, Vice-Chairman, said demand for automobiles carrying rakes and twin-deck wagons were likely to increase.

Poddar said Texmaco’s 140-acre land in Uluberia near here, planned to be turned into a food processing industry hub, was still stuck in a legal wrangle .

An out-of-court settlement proposal submitted to the State Government has not yet yielded results, Poddar said.

Texmaco’s hived off realty and investment unit Texmaco Infrastructure & Holdings Ltd also has not been able to start development at its five-acre land parcel in Delhi. “There are a few pending issues. We hope sort them out – particularly those with the Delhi Development Authority in the near future.”

 

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PAKISTAN BLACKLISTS CHINESE LOCO FIRM

As PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, after being elected leader of the house, was unveiling his plan in parliament to improve rail and road links with China, the ministry of railways was blacklisting a Chinese firm that was to supply it 75 locomotives under an agreement signed in 2008.

Mr Sharif informed the house that during the last month’s visit of Prime Minister Li Keqiang, he (Sharif) discussed a proposed plan to build rail and road links from Kashgar to Gwadar port with the Chinese leader.

Contrarily, the ministry was informing the Chinese firm: “As you have failed to fulfil the contractual obligations against the subject contract, you are hereby blacklisted till further orders,” through a letter (No DP/75 DEL/2012, dated June 5, 2013).

“The transition of power was underway and the ministry made the policy decision it was not authorised to,” a source in the railways ministry told Dawn on Tuesday. The `Buyer credit loan agreement No BLA 0922’ was singed on Dec 14, 2009, between the Export-Import Bank of China as lender and Ministry of Railways, Government of Pakistan, as borrower, in order to execute an agreement signed between Islamabad and Beijing for the provision of 75 locomotives to the Pakistan Railways on credit basis.

Quoting the agreement, the source said Pakistan Railways (PR) had given the undertaking that all governmental approvals had been obtained and that railways would not cancel or terminate the 75 locomotives contract signed in 2008, without prior consent of China Exim Bank in black and white.

“During the caretaker set up, some elements in the ministry got an opportunity to materialise their nefarious design to annoy a time-tested friend China while ignoring the diplomatic and economic repercussions of the move,” said the source.

PR had entered into several agreements with Chinese railway companies for its development and modernisation of its outdated system. In 2001, PR signed a $91.89 million contract with China National Machinery Import and Export Corp for the manufacture of 175 new high-speed passenger coaches. Exim Bank China funded the project on a supplier credit basis.

Under a transfer of technology (ToT) agreement signed with China in 2003, Pakistan Railways procured 69 locomotives that were assembled at its Risalpur locomotive factory. The locomotives were purchased on suppliers' credit basis with funding provided by Exim Bank China through the Dongfang Electric Corporation.

“The coaches and locomotives provided by China on credit basis are being utilised to operate mail and express trains on Rawalpindi-Lahore-Karachi, Lahore-Faisalabad and Rawalpindi-Quetta sections of the PR.

“In fact, more than 70 per cent of the rail traffic -- both passenger and freight -- on the Karachi-Peshawar main line is being hauled by locomotives delivered to the PR by the Chinese firm that was black-listed,” said the source

THIS ARTCILE IS BLASPHEMY

HOW CAN LORD CHINA PRODUCE IMFERIOR PRODUCT....

INDIANs CHURN OUT JUNK...not china

LORD CHINA LORD CHINA

 

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More Chinese locomotives exported to New Zealand：

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The Kiwis like the superior quality of Chinese rail engines and have awarded the Chinese maintenance contracts for same。

 

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China won a contract for 10 inter-city express trains with 60 EMUs from Malaysia：

ä¸*国南车再获马来西亚10列城际动车组订单_国内新闻_环球网

Updated: Saturday September 21, 2013 MYT 2:49:47 PM

China sells 10 bullet trains to Malaysia

CHANGSHA: China's CSR Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive has sold 10 inter-city bullet trains to Malaysia, the company announced Saturday.

The trains, with 4G network coverage and eco-friendly equipment, will be used on a 900-km railway in Malaysia, China's Xinhua news agency quoted the train manufacturer as saying.

The trains will run at an average speed between 140 to 160km per hour.

The first train is scheduled to be delivered in two years, and the rest nine months later, according to the agreement.

CSR Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive sold 38 bullet trains to Malaysia in 2010, which was the first export of Made-in-China bullet trains.- Bernama

 

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HXD2D：

 

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China's CNR to make high-tech subway trains for Brazil

Updated: 2013-09-17 18:17 ( Xinhua)

BEIJING - China CNR Corporation Ltd., one of the country' s biggest train makers, said Tuesday that it will produce 15 subway trains for Brazil that can operate in high temperatures.

The Changchun Railway Vehicles Co. Ltd. of the China CNR Corporation Ltd.has signed contracts with Brazilian MetroBarra company to produce 15 subway trains, including 90 cars, for the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil.

The subway train will be equipped with China's first single air-conditioning unit that has a refrigerating capacity of 50 kilowatts, which will allow the train to operate in temperatures as high as 56 degrees Celsius.

The trains will shuttle on line four between the Olympic village and the Copacabana game center in Rio de Janeiro at speeds of up to 100 kilometers per hour.

CNR was created following a reorganization of the China Northern Locomotive and Rolling Stock Industry (Group) in June 2008. Its products are used in more than 40 countries and regions.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2013-09/17/content_16977196.htm

 

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Electric freight locomotives unveiled in Toshkent

30 Aug 2013

UZBEKISTAN: The first three of 11 electric freight locomotives which CNR Dalian is building for national railway UTY have been unveiled in Toshkent.

Branded as O'zel by UTY, the six-axle single-section 1 520 mm gauge 25 kV AC locomotives have Toshiba traction equipment and are rated at 7·2 MW with a maximum speed of 120 km/h.

The remaining eight locomotives are expected to be delivered by the end of this year. They are to be deployed on routes including the steeply-graded Marakand - Karshi - Termez line where electrification is currently underway. The locomotives incorporate more modern technology than UTY's existing locomotive fleet, and the operator expects them to pay for themselves within five years.

UTY awarded China National Technical Import & Export Corp a contract to supply the locomotives in 2012, following government approval in 2011. The overall cost of the procurement was US$47·3m, with Export-Import Bank of China providing a 20-year loan worth US$42·2m.

Electric freight locomotives unveiled in Toshkent - Railway Gazette

DOTC team to visit China plant for MRT trains

ABS-CBNnews.com

Posted at 09/18/2013 5:02 PM | Updated as of 09/18/2013 5:02 PM

MANILA, Philippines - A team from the Department of Transportation and Communications is set to go to China as part of post-qualification procedure for the acquisition of new trains for the Metro Rail Transit (MRT-3).

Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya said the team will visit CNR Dalian Locomotive & Rolling Stock's manufacturing plant to make sure the firm can produce the 48 light rail vehicles (LRVs) for the project.

“We are going to send a team to China to check out the manufacturing facilities of the group to ensure that they are indeed capable of this," he said.

CNR Dalian Locomotive is said to have the capacity of producing 600 locomotives, 300 urban transit LRVs, and 500 diesel engines annually.

Dalian Locomotive CNR had submitted a bid of P3.759 billion for the MRT-3 capacity expansion project. This was P10 million lower than the indicative price of P3.769 billion for the project.

Also the DOTC is set to hire a consultant to review the terms of the bidding for the MRT-3 project to find out if it had favored a certain bidder.

This after Czech Ambassador Josef Rychtar claimed that a group had tried to extort $30 million from Inekon Group in exchange for the supply contract to provide trains for the MRT-3.

The MRT-3 expansion program involves the acquisition of 48 new trains, which would allow four-car trains to arrive every 2.5 minutes during peak hours. At present, three-car trains arrive every three minutes during peak hours.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/business/09/18/13/dotc-team-visit-china-plant-mrt-trains

 

[gslv mk3]

Looks Chinese

Its Indian.Built by DLW,Varanasi.

 

[Sulman Badshah]

BatTram, anyone? 'Badass' new Russian streetcar revealed (PHOTOS)
Published time: July 09, 2014 09:12
Edited time: July 09, 2014 14:47
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Picture courtesy of Ivan Solomin (TramEKB)

Modernization, Russia, Thrills&Spills,Transport
Russian cities that want to develop their public transit systems will soon have a stellar option to buy. A sleek new black streetcar looks like something Darth Vader would pilot in Star Wars and promises new levels of comfort and safety to commuters.

The R1, or Russia One, was developed by a subsidiary of Uralvagonzavod, a company best known for producing advanced Russian tanks. The prototype streetcar, or tram, is to be revealed to the public on Wednesday at the Innoprom-2014 tech expo, but the producer offered a sneak peak to Russian bloggers one day ahead.

Picture courtesy of Ivan Solomin (TramEKB)



Unlike many foreign tram producers, the Russians favored angles and facets over curves. The R1 looks somewhat block-like, closer to Battlestar Gallactica than the Starship Enterprise. But thanks to black composite glass panels, red elongated lights and silver lines, the tram resembles a huge modern smartphone. Some of the designers dubbed it “an iPhone on rails.”

Picture courtesy of Ivan Solomin (TramEKB)



The interior is meant to be both comfortable and durable. The designers sacrificed the number of seats, leaving only 28 per car, for making those seats cozy and giving more space to standing passengers.

Picture courtesy of Ivan Solomin (TramEKB)



Several features will help using R1 in some of the harsher climatic regions of Russia. Grooved aluminum stepping boards will have built-in electric heaters utilizing energy recuperated during breaking to prevent icing in wintertime. The outer glass panels have special fitting for swift replacement. Electric batteries allow a tram cut from power lines to travel a further 50km autonomously.

Picture courtesy of Ivan Solomin (TramEKB)

Image from r1.uvz.ru



Blogger Ivan Solomin, who is a tram driver himself and was among those invited to test the prototype, has doubts about rear-view cameras that substitute side mirrors at R1. He believes they may not give an adequate rear view to the driver, lacking proper depth perception. But he also praised the driver cabin windows for giving a good direct view – about 10 to 15 percent better than tram models currently used in Russia, he assessed.

Picture courtesy of Ivan Solomin (TramEKB)



The producer estimates that the series version of the tram will cost around 1 million euro and will have few changes compared to the prototype on display. A pilot project to introduce R1 to Russian streets will be launched in Ekaterinburg, Urals Region. The tram is promised to roll out en mass by 2017, when Russia is to host FIFA World Cup.

 

[garibnawaz]

India's first fully CNG operated train