photo: Ukrainian Railways (Ukrzaliznycja) /Ukrainian Railways (Ukrzaliznycja)
Ukrainian Railways (Ukrzaliznycja) will buy French Alstom freight locomotives. Ukraine has agreed with France to purchase 130 electric freight locomotives. The peculiarity of the contract is that it will be carried out with the help of an intergovernmental agreement, without tenders.
The total amount of the contract is 882.5 million euros, of which 750 million euros will be in the form of a loan from the French government. The term of the loan is 10 years.
Under the agreement is expected to localize production in Ukraine at a level of 35%, said in a statement by the Ministry of Infrastructure. It is envisaged that this will be provided for in a commercial contract between Ukrainian Railways and Alstom.
Ukrainian Railways has not officially commented on the purchase of electric locomotives - the company promises to provide information this week.
The company plans to buy the model Alstom Prima T8 - two-section eight-axle electric locomotives for track gauge 1520 mm
These are heavy freight locomotives, which are one of the most powerful in the world and are capable of transporting up to 10 thousand tons at speeds up to 120 km / h.
The entire inventory of Ukrainian Railways is 3532 locomotives of 43 series, including an active fleet of 2463 units. The depreciation of the park is estimated at 97%. The Ukrainian Railways board approved the concept for working with the locomotive fleet until 2033, which provides for the purchase of 315 new electric locomotives, including 55 electric locomotives with direct current, 180 electric locomotives with alternating current, and 80 two-system electric locomotives.
The new electric locomotives will spend less time in the depot waiting for repairs, and the locomotive crews will work in more comfortable conditions than the current ones. On some routes, it will be possible to increase the weight of the train by 25-30%, as well as to introduce intensive traffic with trains weighing up to 9 thousand tons. According to experts, this will have a positive effect on the routing transport of goods, for example from Kryvyi Rih and Zolotnishino (iron ore pellet shipping station from Poltava GOK) to the ports of Odesa region and in the direction of Uzhgorod and Chop, where the goods go for export to Slovakia.
Alstom already has 1520 mm AC freight locomotives. These electric locomotives are manufactured for the railways of Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan with small differences due to the climatic characteristics of these countries. At the same time, Alstom does not yet have a dual-system electric freight locomotive with a 1520 mm track gauge. There is only a passenger one, which has been developed and delivered in the amount of 10 units of the Azerbaijan Railways.