Consignment of modern US locomotives reaches Karachi

Pakistan will receive a total of 55 locomotives in different phases


APP January 23, 2017
A newly-inducted GE locomotive is being offloaded at the Karachi port on Monday. PHOTO: APP

KARACHI: A consignment of seven modern locomotives reached Karachi from the United States to reinforce Pakistan Railways’ existing fleet.

“Pakistan will receive a total of 55 locomotives in different phases from the US. The remaining 48 are expected to be handed over to the Pakistan Railways by June 2017,” official sources in the Ministry of Railways told APP Monday.

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Commenting on specifications of the locomotives, sources said the consignment comprised 4,000 horsepower diesel-powered modern locomotives produced by General Electric with a 676mm gauge. The 137 tonne six-axle locomotives are designed for a maximum speed of 120 km per hour and are expected to provide better fuel efficiency and longer maintenance intervals than Pakistan Railways’ current fleet.

CEO Pakistan Railways Muhammad Javed Anwar at the inauguration of newly inducted locomotives at the Karachi Port Trust (KPT) on Monday. PHOTO: APP

The locomotives will help cope with the harsh operating conditions in Pakistan, having additional cooling capacity and an air-conditioned cab suitable for bidirectional operation.

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They will also be used for transporting imported coal from Karachi’s Port Qasim to Sahiwal Power Plant in Punjab and Jamshoro Power Plant in Sindh.

This is the first ever consignment of Evolution Series locomotives to have reached anywhere in South Asia, the official added, saying it is also Pakistan's first such fleet.

COMMENTS (16)

007 | 7 years ago | Reply @Siddiqui They are intended for freight purposes. It doesn't have to be sexy.
Kamran | 7 years ago | Reply The General Electric ES40DC EVOLUTION is high technology Traction Motor design utilizing a high efficiency 12 cylinder Turbodiesel with 40% fewer emissions. This engine produces the same power as 16 cylinder units in lesser locomotives. Power is transferred via Asynchronous generation and converted to DC by Capacitor Inverters so no transmission is required. Final drive is through axle mounted electric direct drive. This is fine piece of machinery and it's unfortunate many who make comments might not be aware of the reality of superior engineering and reliability.
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