Kazakhstan’s national railway company, Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ), Electric Locomotive Assembly Plant, and France’s Alstom have agreed to supply 117 freight electric locomotives by 2028 and establish service centers for them. The document was signed at Paris’s November 4 Kazakhstan-France Business Council meeting.
These powerful electric locomotives, capable of hauling freight trains weighing up to 9,000 tons, will replace the outdated VL-80 locomotives of the 1980 model. The new locomotives’ advantages include lower cost, more economical power consumption, high reliability, and lower maintenance costs.
The French bank Société Générale will provide preferential financing for the purchase of the locomotives.
Kazakhstan’s railways play a strategic role in its economy. The country is a key transit hub for rail cargo transportation along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), also known as the Middle Corridor, which connects China and Europe.
Today, more than 50% of freight in Kazakhstan is transported by rail.
Kazakhstan Temir Zholy, the country’s national railway company, reported transporting more than 122 million tons of cargo from January to June 2024.
