The Ukrainian Railways joint-stock company (JSC Ukrzaliznytsia) currently uses 100-120 mainline diesel locomotives for freight transportation.
Anton Sabolevskyi, the director of strategic development and investment policy at Ukrzaliznytsia, announced this at the IV international conference “Ukrainian Railways: Development and Investment” on February 27, the CFTS portal reports.
In the context of the upcoming purchase of the next batch of Wabtec (General Electric) locomotives, Sabolevskyi noted the need to upgrade Ukrzaliznytsia’s fleet of diesel locomotives and increase its productivity.
"We have already leased 30 locomotives, and we are working to increase the fleet by 40. What does this mean for Ukrzaliznytsia? We are currently using 100-120 mainline diesel locomotives for freight operations. We will upgrade more than half of our fleet if we receive 40 units, and a new locomotive has almost double the productivity. For example, a new locomotive covers 560 kilometers per day versus 300 kilometers per day for an old locomotive. In addition, fuel savings of 20%, oil savings of 60%, etc.," Sabolevskyi said.
As reported, Viktor Dovhan, an adviser to Ukraine’s minister of infrastructure, announced on February 27 that the financial leasing terms for 40 Wabtec diesel locomotives are currently being finalized.
Ukrzaliznytsia had 202 mainline freight diesel locomotives in operation as of September 2018.
