U.S. rolling stock manufacturer, General Electric, plans to extend its partnership with Ukraine’s railway state company, Ukrzaliznytsia, beyond the supply of 200 locomotives, as envisioned in a 10-year, USD 1 billion deal signed this February. This is the largest project in all 8 years of GE’s operations in Ukraine. GE wants to help Ukrzaliznytsia repair and upgrade its aging rolling stock, Sinan Haseki, commercial leader at GE Transportation, said. Haseki also said the partnership between Ukrzaliznytsia and GE will notbe limited to buy-and-sell, as the first batch of 30 GE locomotives slated for delivery to Ukraine this year.
“No locomotives will bring value if they stand idle in the yard needing maintenance,” Haseki said. “We will provide long-term maintenance to ensure the long service (of the locomotives) and will cooperate with Ukrzaliznytsia on improving the performance and reliability of its existing fleet”, the representative of GE added.
General Electric is ready to provide Ukrainian railways with its latest tech solutions. One of them, Trip Optimizer, is an easy-to-use control system for trains — similar to cruise control in cars –that can increase fuel efficiency by 3%-17%. “We see that the Internet of Things and digitalisation are becoming the next wave of added value. GE has invested a lot in these solutions, and we are eager to provide them to Ukraine,” Haseki added.
General Electric expressed their intention of launching the locomotive production in the Ukrainian market. Apart from the modernisation of the locomotive fleet, the establishment of a joint-venture with General Electric will bring several benefits to the Ukrainian railway company, among which significant investments and access to modern technological solutions.
Share on:
