The Lithuanian counterpart of the Railway Transport Office officially approved the ST48 series locomotives for use by PKP Cargo on Lithuanian railway infrastructure. These vehicles can run on standard gauge lines. PKP Cargo used ST44 and SM42 series diesel locomotives in Lithuania.
ST48 is a modernised six-axle SM 48 locomotive. PKP Cargo subjected several dozens of these vehicles to major refurbishment. A modern combustion engine, with nearly double the power (up from 882 kW to 1,550 kW) is used in the modernised locomotives. Upgraded machines consume less fuel, which reduces operating costs. They can now be used in shunting and for driving trains.
PKP Cargo received indefinite authorisation for independent realization of transports on Lithuania’s standard gauge railway in May 2014. Due to this, the Polish carrier can independently perform transports to the Šeštokai railway terminal located 22 km away from the border. This decreases the duration of transports, since such a solution eliminates the time-consuming forwarding of consignments between carriers at the border.
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