CRRC Datong’s Chief Engineer Zhao Mingyuan told the CFTS correspondent during the Rail Expo 2018 exhibition in Kyiv that Ukraine would be offered practically the same model of electric locomotives that is supplied to Belarus, although with certain modifications to meet Ukrzaliznytsia’s requirements.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Infrastructure stated earlier that Ukrzaliznytsia would have only one supplier of electric locomotives.
"By the end of the year, the government will begin a strategic partnership with either CRRC or Alstom, as well as will the General Electric company. There will be a competition between the two companies, and the stronger will win," Deputy Minister Viktor Dovhan said in September this year.
As reported earlier, Ukrzaliznytsia signed a memorandum of cooperation with CRRC and a similar document with Alstom at the InnoTrans 2018 exhibition in Berlin.
BKG1 electric locomotives manufactured by CRRC have been in operation on Belarusian railways since 2012, when 12 units were supplied. Eighteen additional units were supplied in the period of 2015-2017. This locomotive model is an adaptation of the Chinese electric locomotive of the HXD2 series, which CRRC developed jointly with Alstom based on the Prima 47000 electric locomotive.
