The Czech company CZ LOKO will supply the Estonian freight carrier Operail with six more packets for complex modernisation of American C30 locomotives to Class C30-M. Representatives of both companies negotiated this exchange this week in Tallinn. It is the second contract within less than a year. The previous one was concluded last January and concerned four packets. Earlier, the company supplied three of these upgraded locomotives to Estonia.
“It is an appreciation of our previous work and positive experience with the operation of the supplied locomotives, especially of the C30-M 1564 prototype. Operail leases it in heavy industry in the Ukrainian Dnipropetrovsk region, where it averages 150 kilometres of heavy shunting per day,” says Ľubomír Dlábik, Head of the Sales Team of CZ LOKO. All modernisation packets will be delivered by Q1 2021.
Complete modernisation packets, i.e. all assemblies above the level of the main frame, are manufactured by the CZ LOKO facility in Jihlava. These include, for example, diesel engine blocks with alternators, cabs, hoods, cooling systems, brake systems or control blocks. In the Operail workshops in Tapa, the original locomotive is stripped, the undercarriage is refurbished and the main frame modified. This is followed by the final assembly and activation of the new vehicle. Everything is supervised by CZ LOKO technicians.
The new C30-M six-axle diesel-electric locomotive is the successor of the original American C30 locomotive made by General Electric. It is designed for heavy shunting or line service on lines and sidings with a 1520 mm track gauge. It is powered by a 1550 kW CAT 3512C engine. Compared to the original locomotive, it has a hood unit type structure with a turret cab, which improves the driver’s view.
While Estonia, along with Lithuania and Latvia, is a traditional market for CZ LOKO, to which the company has already supplied over 130 locomotives, in neighbouring Finland, the company is gradually building up its position. The private carrier Fenniarail Oy has recently ordered the sixth EffiShunter 1600, which will be supplied in 2020. The contract also includes an option to purchase another six locomotives. “Our EffiShunter locomotives are really sought-after. They are very technically advanced and withstand even the most demanding Nordic conditions,” added Ľubomír Dlábik. The locomotives regularly reach even Russian transition stations.