GHANA: Two diesel multiple-units built by CNR Tangshan Railway Vehicle Co for Accra - Tema commuter services were shipped from the Chinese port of Tianjin at the end of last month.

The 1 067 mm gauge DMUs are expected to be cheaper to operate and capable of more intensive utilisation than locomotive-hauled trains on the 25 km route.

Each DMU comprises two motor and four trailer cars, providing a total of 616 seats. Vossloh Kiepe provided the propulsion equipment, including the AC transmission, electronic controls and static inverters. Voith Turbo supplied 150 kW traction motors and gearing for the units, which have a design speed of 80 km/h.