Alstom commissions first made-in-Kazakhstan locomotive

Alstom has released its first Prima M4 KZ4AT passenger locomotive fully assembled in Kazakhstan.

Delivery is part of the execution of a contract with Kazakhstan Railways (KTZ) for the supply and maintenance of 302 Prima T8 KZ8A freight and 119 Prima M4 KZ4AT passenger locomotives to KTZ since its signature in 2010.

Guillaume Tritter, Alstom Managing Director for Western & Central Asia, said: “Today is a very important day, a date to be remembered! We are very honoured to present and commission the very first made-in-Kazakhstan passenger electric locomotive. Thanks to our strong partnership with KTZ and our ambitious localisation plan, this tailor-made locomotive will run across the country at speeds up to 200km/h. This new product is a result of an additional transfer of technology completed thanks to the support of our European manufacturing sites. The state-of-the-art quality of the product also demonstrates the strong capacities acquired in our EKZ plant, located in Nur-Sultan, which is definitely positioned as a key player of the railway industry, here in Kazakhstan.”

Multi-purpose locomotive

This multi-purpose locomotive is based on the Alstom Prima modular platform designed to provide operators with the most suitable solutions for passenger services. It is one of the most versatile, in terms of applications, electric locomotives in the world. This locomotive is able to run at 200km/h in passenger services and has been designed to successfully operate in extreme weather conditions from -50C to +50C. Developed on the basis of KTZ technical requirements and in compliance with GOST (CIS standards) standards and specifications, the locomotive has a cutting-edge traction system based on Alstom’s technology and components produced by Alstom.

Alstom’s Prima range is covering all market segments of locomotives from heavy-haul, freight and passenger operation and shunting or track work operation. Over the past 20 years, more than 3,200 Prima locomotives (more than 4,600 sections) have been sold worldwide.

Alstom is present in Western & Central Asia with more than 1,000 people, three country offices in Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan, five depots, repair centre and two plants, EKZ in Nur-Sultan for electric locomotives manufacturing and maintenance and production of on-board transformers, and KEP in Almaty to produce point machines. Alstom is a major contributor to the revitalisation of the region’s mobility industry and the development of its economy.

EKZ, a joint venture of Alstom, employs around 850 people and is working on supplying and maintaining the Prima electric locomotives ordered by KTZ, Kazakhstan’s national railway company and export markets, like Azerbaijan.