ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih received and commissioned the first of four EffiShunter 1600 shunting locomotives manufactured by the Czech company CZ Loko. The first machine arrived in Kryvyi Rih in December 2020 and Czech specialists trained the company’s personnel online. Under the contract signed in the summer of 2019, all four EffiShunter 1600 locomotives will be purchased according to a financial lease scheme. The total amount of the contract is 7.5 million euros.
Alexey Rybalkin, Director of the Transport Department of ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih: “ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih was the first in Ukraine to start operating Czech locomotives of a new generation. It is planned to deliver raw materials to our largest blast furnace No. 9 using the first two of the four CZ Loko locomotives. The second locomotive from this batch has also recently arrived in Kryvyi Rih. We are preparing the machine and its components for commissioning. Two more locomotives from CZ Loko are expected in 2021. We hope that quarantine restrictions in European countries will not impact our delivery plans considerably”.
EffiShunter 1600 diesel locomotives are designed for shunting operations and heavy work on industrial facilities, in particular in the metallurgical and mining industries. These are modern machines equipped with a Caterpillar 1,550 kilowatt diesel engine and a Siemens traction generator. They are equipped with a digital control system, cruise control, electrodynamic brakes and anti-slip. The advantages of these diesel locomotives are high reliability and sound insulation, environmental friendliness, good visibility and handling safety.
By buying new diesel locomotives and upgrading the existing ones, ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih improves the efficiency of its rail car fleet. Since 2018, the company has begun to install diesel engines of world-class companies, such as the American Cummins, the Anglo-Belgian ABC corporation, on its diesel locomotives. For example, in 2018-2020, ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih restored more than 40 diesel locomotives, having upgraded them and replaced the engines. In total, the company has already allocated over UAH 370 million for its locomotive restoration program. (AMKR/Ukrainian metal)