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Elektriraudtee FLIRTsBKG1 Electrics On TestInnoTrans Megareport IIHKX: The First Four MonthsFyra International Services Start

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Results Of „Turkistan“ Class 630M DMU Operation

As we reported in R 4/12, p. 52,on 6 July 2012 KTZ’s passenger sub-sidiary Prigorodnye perevozki (PP), putinto commercial service its two-carPESA-built Class 630M DMU on the184 km line linking Turkestan withShymkent. 630M-003 currently runsthree days per week, making a returntrip, forming train pair 6937/6938,every Friday, Saturday and Sunday,calling at all 19 intermediate local sta-tions, halts and refuge loops. One dayper week is reserved for maintenanceby Ak-Beren, a KTZ division engagedin vehicle repair and maintenance,forming part of the KTZ subsidiary AORemlokomotiv, and on the other threedays the DMU is stored in its depot atTurkestan.

Shymkent is the capital city of SouthKazakhstan province, the most denselypopulated part of Kazakhstan. AfterAlmaty and Astana it is the third largestcity in the country, with a population ofaround 590,000. Its name translatesas „Turf City“. The city lies on the„TurkSib“ (Turkestan to Siberia) railway,

which runs from Arys, north of Tashkent,northwards to Novosibirsk, on the Trans-Siberian main line. Most of this railwaywas built in the late 1920s.

Turkestan, northwest of Shymkent,is one of the oldest cities in Kazakhstan.It was founded in the 4th century atthe crossroads of caravan routes fromSamarkand, Bukhara and Khiva tonorthern Kazakhstan. It currently has a population of 204,000.

The new Class 630M servicedeparts from Turkestan at 06.20,reaching Shymkent at 09.53, giving a journey time of 3h33. The returnservice leaves Shymkent at 17.40, arriv-ing in Turkestan at 21.39 (journey time3h59). This timetable was organisedso as to give passengers a longer stayin Shymkent. The train crew (two shifts,each of two ticket inspectors) are sup-plied by Turkestan station.

During the first four months of opera-tion, between 6 July and 31 October,30,129 passengers were carried, andthe train covered 22,184 km. 102 servi-ces - 51 train pairs - were operated.The average occupancy was 296 pas-sengers - which means that many had

to stand, because the DMU has just175 seats. No serious operating delaysoccurred, and the train crews expressedsatisfaction with the operation of theDMU, which reaches a top speed of100 km/h on some stretches of line. Itshould be noted that the line traversesa semi-desert region, where summertemperatures can reach over 40 0C,thus air-conditioning is very appreciatedby passengers.

Here we see 630M-003 inservice on 9 August 2012. The left-hand view shows it waiting todepart from Shymkent station, si-tuated in the southern part of thecity. The right-hand photo was takenshowing the refuge loop at km 37,in a landscape which gives a goodimpression of this vast (2.7 mil-lion km2) sparsely populated (17 mil-lion inhabitants) country, much ofthe south of which has a predomi-nantly arid or semi-arid climate.

630M-003 is still covered by PESA’swarranty, which runs for two years,starting when the train entered service.Up to now two PESA technicians havebeen travelling with the train. Moreover,PP and PESA have signed an agree-ment with Ak-Beren to cover mainte-nance in the TO-2 overhaul (after 50hours of engine use), �the TO-3 (after800 hours),�TO-6 (after 4,000 hours),TO-7 (after 8,000 hours) and TO-8

(after 16,000 hours of engine use).„TO“ stands for „Tekhnicheskoe obslu-zhivanie“ (technical maintenance) andthis is realised at Turkestan depot.Moreover, Ak-Beren realises the com-missioning examinations which takeplace every spring (VKO, vesenny ko-missionny osmotr) and autumn (OKO,osenny komissionny osmotr).

Evidently patronage data indicatesubstantial demand, so from 1 January2013 it is planned to step up the ope-rating frequency of the Turkestan toShymkent service to five train pairs perweek, with new return trips offeredadditionally on Mondays and Thursdays.These have been requested, as wasthe original service, by the district go-vernment for South Kazakhstan, andwill be subsidised by the latter.

KTZ also has an investment planunder which it envisages acquiring a new three-car DMU for PP in 2013.Tenders for the construction of thistrain will be invited. This new DMU willbe used on various services on KTZ’snon-electrified lines. It is to be pur-chased by KTZ subsidiary Passazhir-skaya lizingovaya vagonnaya kompaniya(PLVK), one of more than 25 subsi-diaries of the state rail operator.

KTZPhotos:

Radim Bochňák

EKZ Factory In Astana InauguratedOn 4 December 2012 KTZ, Alstom and Transmashholding inaugurated their new electric locomotive factory in Astana. The ceremony was attended by the

President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbaev, KTZ President Askar Mamin, TMH President Andrey Bokarev, Alstom Chairman and CEO Patrick Kron, and AlstomTransport President Henri Poupart-Lafarge. The factory is run by EKZ (Elektrovoz Kurastyru Zauyty), a joint-venture formed by Remlokomotiv (a KTZ subsidiary, witha 50 % share), TMH (25 %) and Alstom (25 %), and represents an investment of around 50 million EUR. It has a total surface area of 27,522 m2 and an outputcapacity of up to 100 locomotives per annum. It is expected that the number of employees will grow from the current 47 to 650 by the end of 2016. Production atEKZ will start in January 2013 with the KTZ order for 200 Class KZ8A freight locomotives and 95 Class KZ4AT passenger locomotives (being distinguished by a „T“in the class designation from the earlier Classes KZ4A and KZ4AS). Ten pre-series locomotives are being built at Alstom’s Belfort works (see R 5/12, p. 17). As partof a skills transfer programme EKZ employees will undergo training at Belfort and at Novocherkassk (NEVZ) works. For the inaugural event KZ8A-0001 wasmoved to the new Astana works. This machine is currently undergoing Russian certification and will start dynamic tests in Kazakhstan in January 2013. EKZ isnow also building other KZ8A locomotives, as shown in the right-hand photo.

Alstom

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