Do the Locomotion

　　South African rail freight will soon be pulled by bright red locomotives made in China， as part of thesingle biggest infrastructure investment initiative by aSouth African corporation.

　　The country’s state-owned freight transport andlogistics company， Transnet， announced on March 17that it had awarded a 50 billion Rand (about $4.7 billion)contract for the building of 1，064 locomotives to fourglobal original equipment manufacturers. Two Chinesecompanies and two North American companies wonthe bidding.

　　The multi-billion dollar acquisition is the third majororder Transnet has made for new locomotives in implementingits “road to rail” strategy， a key componentof Transnet’s more than 300 billion Rand ($28.3 billion)market demand strategy.

　　Big Chinese contracts

　　Chinese company CSR Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive， asubsidiary of CSR Corp.， won contracts for building 359electric locomotives as well as an additional purchase of100 20E locomotives. It was the second time the companywas awarded Transnet tenders， after it was granteda contract to make 95 electric locomotives in September2012. Another Chinese company， CNR Rolling StockSouth Africa， was awarded the contract for 232 diesellocomotives.

　　According to the contracts， original manufacturersare required to supply the locomotives within three anda half years and realize a localization rate of 60 percentin making electric locomotives and 55 percent in diesellocomotives.

　　The agreement fulfills the aim of making locomotivesfor South Africa， as well as assisting the countrymanufacture “Made in South Africa” locomotives.

　　Chinese manufacturers have shown an understandingof South African needs， accordingto CSR President Liu Hualong.

　　“CSR will gather its resources andwork together with its sub-contractorsand partners to fulfill our commitmentto South Africans： to help realize Made-in-South Africa locomotives，” he said.

　　CSR and CNR are two large rail transit comprehensivesolution providers in China engagingin the manufacturing of locomotives，passenger coaches， freight wagons， urban railvehicle and other extended products. Bothmulti-national groups have more than 20 subsidiariesand about 90，000 employees. Their products havebeen exported to more than 80 countries.

　　Liu attributed CSR’s good performance in recentyears to its strong research and development operation.“We have four engineering testing centers， ninenational-level technological centers and seven nationalleveltesting and examining centers，” he said.

　　CSR has also benefited from its efficient financingplatforms， complete industrial chain and its mutuallybeneficial policies. “We keep the win-win concept in ourmind when we cooperate with our partners，” Liu said.

　　For the CSR group， the 359-electric locomotivecontract was its second order from Transnet. Back inSeptember 2012， CSR Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive，bid for a $400 million contract for building 95 electriclocomotives.

　　All these contracted locomotives are specificallydesigned and manufactured for South African conditions.

　　“They are specially designed four-axleand six-axle locomotives for general freightrail business on the 1，067-meter rail gaugein South Africa，” said Johannesburg-basedCSR South Africa (PTY) Ltd. General ManagerWang Guojun.

　　According to Wang， the first 95 electriclocomotives are required to reach thepower of 3，000 kw， with a maximumspeed of 100 km per hour. As many aseight such electric locomotives can beconnected to enhance pulling powerand they can also be coupled with diesellocomotives. Locomotives designed by CSRare equipped with both AC and DC tractiondevices， enabling them to automaticallyadjust to either power supply.

　　The 359 electric locomotives in the new order aredesigned to have a pulling power of 4，650 kw and amaximum speed of 100 km per hour. Wireless datatraffic and advanced power control systems will beused to raise the electricity use ratio. Most importantly，environmentally-friendly materials will be used to ensurethe equipment will not emit poisonous gases at hightemperatures.

　　Made in South Africa

　　The locomotive acquisition has proven to be mutuallybeneficial to all parties involved. “The procurementof 1，064 locomotives will be an enormous benefit toTransnet， our customers and our country，” Transnet CEOBrain Molefe said at the signing ceremony.

　　Molefe said that the acquisition program willenhance locomotive operational efficiency， develop engineeringcapabilities， improve manufacturing skills andcreate over 90 billion Rand ($8.5 billion) in localizationbenefits for the South African economy. Molefe said thatapproximately 30，000 direct and indirect jobs will becreated in the process. In addition， energy savings of 8to 10 percent for diesels and 80 percent for electrics areprojected， including regeneration of energy by electriclocomotives.

　　Transnet’s procurement contracts are not merelyequipment acquisition contracts， they also include atransfer of technology， production localization rate，training and export of repair and maintenance services，said Wang. “This helps us create a brand new exportmodel.”

　　Under the terms of the contract for 95 electriclocomotives， 10 are permitted to be made in China. Ofthese 10， nine have already been transported to SouthAfrica and are now currently undergoing tests beforegoing into operation， Wang said. The remaining 85 locomotivesof this order will be manufactured and assembledin South Africa by CSR’s local subcontractors. Thefirst of these are expected to be rolled out in May.Wang said there are now more than 20 CSR engineersand technicians working in the Pretoria-based factory，who help with on-the-job training. To date， about150 people from the factory have received training inCSR Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive.

　　Wang said [our] manufacturing locomotives in [CSR’ssub-contactors’ factory in] South Africa would create2，000 jobs and help improve the production level ofmore than 500 local spare parts producers.

　　To promote localization， CSR is considering buildingan industry park in South Africa with its partners. Wangsaid that this move would not only promote productionlocalization， but also create much needed jobs.