AZERBAIJAN: National railway ADY has taken delivery of the first of 40 Prima T8 AZ8A twin-section 25 kV AC heavy freight locomotives ordered for use on the Baku – Tbilisi – Kars corridor.
The EKZ joint venture of Alstom (75%) and Transmashholding (25%), which is based at Astana in Kazakhstan, is supplying 40 Prima T8 AZ8A freight locomotives and 10 Prima M4 AZ4A passenger locomotives under a contract awarded in May 2014.
The first of the passenger locomotives was unveiled at Alstom’s Belfort plant in France in October 2017. The first of the freight locomotives has now been delivered from Astana to Biləcəri in Baku, ready for testing by Alstom over the coming months.
The AZ8A is based on the KZ8A locomotives currently in service with KTZ in Kazakhstan, modified to meet ADY’s technical requirements and comply with GOST standards.
The 1 520 mm gauge design has a maximum speed of 120 km/h and continuous rating of 8·8 MW, and is designed to be able to haul up to 9 000 tonnes and operate in temperatures from -25°C to 50°C.
- Testing of the coaches which ADY has ordered from Stadler for use on the Baku – Tbilisi – Kars route is underway at up to 177 km/h on the 35 km route between Donauwörth and Treuchtlingen in Germany. Delivery is planned for Q1 2019, ahead of entry into service later in the year.
