Malaysia’s SMH Rail unveils new environmentally-friendly locomotive

Malaysia’s leading rolling stock manufacturer and maintenance service provider – SMH Rail Sdn Bhd (SMH Rail) – has unveiled its newly manufactured ‘H10 Series’ locomotive, built with advanced technology to reduce emissions.

The ‘H10 Series’ locomotive provides an intrinsic value to the environment and railway ecosystem together with innovation in design engineering that will fuel green operations. Manufactured locally, the ‘H10 Series’ showcases Malaysia’s expertise in the rolling stock market and has been recognised as the ‘First Made in Malaysia Locomotive’ for the export market.

The new locomotive can potentially replace 100 cargo trucks, reduce carbon emissions by up to 75 per cent, lower highway congestion, and is four times more fuel efficient than road freight transport on average. Its practical design ensures high reliability and availability for improved operational efficiency, increased haulage capacity and reduction of maintenance challenges, resulting in lower overall lifecycle costs.

Yang Berbahagia Datuk PK Nara, Chairman and Managing Director of SMH Rail, said: “We are committed towards building innovative solutions in the global railway industry. With more than 20 years of industry experience, our focus is to continuously deliver outstanding solutions for our global railway partners in terms of cost, efficiency and reliability. The first batch of locomotives in this series will be delivered to Tanzania Railways Corporation who have placed the order based on funding support from the World Bank. I am confident that these locomotives will bring enormous economic benefits to the African rail cargo industry. It is efficient in bridging connectivity, increases supply-chain access, accelerates industrialisation and promotes cross-border trade. With more than 60 per cent of its content locally manufactured in Malaysia, the ‘H10 Series’ marks a cornerstone achievement of our company in the global rail industry.”

The dual cab locomotive is compliant with UIC standards and is designed for heavy haulage and uninterrupted long-haul services. One of its main features is its capability to operate in challenging terrains and weather conditions for combined performance assurance with high reliability and availability. Equipped with a remote monitoring and diagnostics solution to provide real-time updates to rail operators, the locomotive enables rail operators to monitor performance remotely including speed, maintenance requirements, fuel consumption and fault alerts. It supports data analysis that tracks negligent handling, reduce risks of failures and improves operational safety.