Kazakhstan has received its first hybrid diesel-electric shunting locomotive from the Chinese manufacturer CRRC. Its design helps to cope with the harsh climate conditions in the region. KTZ claims it is the first such hybrid locomotives in the CIS.
The first hybrid locomotives of type CKD6H have arrived in Almaty, southern Kazakhstan. Chinese rolling stock manufacturer CRRC has developed them in cooperation with Kazakh Railways (KTZ). The development process, including production and testing, took 14 months.
Image: Telegram. © Kazakh Railways
With battery-powered traction alongside the regular diesel engine, the CKD6H allows for a 45% reduction in fuel consumption. It reduces noise by 80% and emission pollution by 83%, writes KTZ. “The locomotives were created on the basis of the platform of ecologically clean transport and are adapted to the harsh climate of Central Asia.” In winter, temperatures can reach -40 degrees Celsius in parts of Kazakhstan.
The new locomotives are equipped with both a 540 kWh diesel engine and a battery with a capacity of more than 900 kWh. The traction battery can be charged from the diesel engine and using external charging stations, explains KTZ.
First in CIS?
Kazakh Railways claims that the CKD6H is the first hybrid shunting locomotive in the CIS, a Russia-led organisation with members mostly in Central Asia and the Caucasus. However, that claim has been disputed.
During Soviet times, there were trials with battery traction, explains the Kazakh Rail Freight Association. Hybrid models were in production in Russia in the early 2010s, but there was no demand for them. However, the CKD6H could be the first such locomotives to be taken into regular use.
Kazakh Railways has an old rolling stock fleet. It is therefore also in negotiations with Alstom to replace some of its most outdated and wasteful locomotives.