RUSSIA: The first 3TE25K2M three-section main line freight diesel locomotives to be ordered by a private operator rather than by Russian Railways have been delivered from Transmashholding’s Bryansk plant.
Six of the 9·3 MW locomotives were ordered in May by Elga-Trans, which operates the 321 km Ulak – Elga line connecting RZD’s Baikal – Amur Magistral main line with the Elga coal deposit in Yakutia, the largest coking coal site in Russia.
The first three of the locos have now been delivered, Transmashholding said on July 21, and the remaining three are to arrive later this year. A maintenance agreement is also being discussed.
Elga-Trans currently operates 2TE116, 3TE10, TEM2 and TEM18 locomotives, and earlier this year it leased two TEM28 shunting locomotives from TMH PRO, which maintains the whole fleet in co-operation with LocoTech-Promservis.
The 3TE25K2M was developed from the 2TE25K Persvet twin-section design. The first two 3TE25K2M locos were completed in 2017, and testing was completed in October 2019. They have AC-DC transmission and are designed for the harsh weather conditions experienced in eastern Russia.
RZD has been using the type since early 2020, and more than 50 are now based at Komsomolsk-na-Amur on its Dalnevostochnaya (Far Eastern) Railway.
