New Zealand’s new locomotives powered by Tognum drive systems

• Delivery of 20 series 20V 4000 R43 engines
• Strategically important project for follow-up orders

Friedrichshafen, 30 September 2009. Tognum, the specialist for propulsion and power solutions is to deliver mtu engines type 20V 4000 R43 for 20 new locomotives operated by the New Zealand company KiwiRail. The locomotives are to be supplied by Dalian Locomotive and Rolling Stock Co., Ltd. CNR Group, one of the leading companies of the Chinese rail industry. The delivery of the Friedrichshafen-built engines is scheduled from October 2009 until January 2010.

New Zealand is the first industrial country to order Chinese locomotives and the end user KiwiRail made the award of the order to Dalian conditional on the installation of mtu drive units. “This is a break-through for the Chinese rail industry and that means it is also a break-through for us”, declared Rainer Breidenbach, member of the Tognum executive board with responsibility for the business unit Engines. “For the Chinese manufacturers of locomotives scheduled for export, mtu drive systems make an essential selling point, whilst providing us with the access to a new market.”

Over the next few years, KiwiRail will be purchasing another 60 to 80 new locomotives and the supply of an initial 20 Dalian locomotives with mtu engines is therefore a significant reference project for possible follow-up orders. The new drive units deliver 2700 kW and meet UIC III international emissions standards as well as offering major advantages in terms of low fuel consumption and low emissions. KiwiRail will also benefit from a 24-hour service warranty which guarantees that if a problem occurs, an mtu technician will be on site within 24 hours. Among other reasons, this is made possible by the fact that the mtu Service Center is only an hour and a half away from the KiwiRail depot.

The locomotives are due to go into service on the mainline networks in New Zealand from 2010.