Alstom inaugurate first bogie centre in Kazakhstan

Credit: Alstom

Alstom have inaugurated its first bogie centre in Astana, Kazakhstan, to produce and maintain bogies for all types of railway vehicles throughout their entire lifecycle; this new centre comprises an impressive total area of more than 8,000m2. In the framework of Alstom’s development plan in Kazakhstan, Alstom invested over €15 million in creation of the bogie centre and has opened more than 100 jobs locally.

Alstom prioritises optimising the total cost of ownership for customers through measures such as extended component lifetimes, efficient maintenance plans and advanced condition-based maintenance features for maximum availability. Alstom bogies are highly reliable and designed to withstand different environmental and climatic conditions and 98% recyclable. The bogie centre combines original equipment manufacturer knowledge and technology with product innovations.

Alstom covers various service needs, bringing bogies and their components back to impeccable condition through repairs and overhauls, lifecycle and technical solutions management. The bogie centre is capable to overhaul bogie subcomponents which includes wheelset and dampers repair, 3D measuring, non-destructive inspection, wheelsets and motors testing, and other related activities supported by digital manufacturing process. Moreover, the facility is qualified to maintain non-Alstom railway components as well.

“This state-of-the-art facility has been established as a result of Alstom’s industrialisation development in Kazakhstan,” Kanat Alpysbayev, Managing Director in Western and Central Asia, said. “Our bogie centre plays a crucial role in providing full maintenance for Alstom freight and passenger locomotives over a 25-year period. With full range of innovative equipment and services, we are happy to support Kazakhstan’s mobility as a trusted partner.”

As part of its Flexx bogies offering, Alstom proposes the widest range of products, catering various rail transportation needs, from light rail to high-speed trains. Through continuous investment in research & development, Alstom’s bogies show high reliability, optimised total cost of ownership, and result in improved comfort for passengers. Alstom also offers Flexx Consult services, including the wheel-rail interface study to create the optimal interface between wheel and rail profiles, resulting in improved performance and reduced life cycle cost for both, wheel and rail.

Alstom has been operating in Kazakhstan since 2010 and has established a significant industrial base with over 1,000 employees working to address national mobility’s needs and modernisation of the country’s railway. Now, Alstom’s footprint spans across 11 sites in six cities throughout the country: two production plants: Electric Locomotive Assembly Plant (EKZ) in Astana for the production of electric locomotives and JV KazElectroPrivod (KEP) in Almaty for the production of point machines; four service depots to maintain locomotives in Astana, Almaty, Arys and Shu, two troubleshooting areas located in Tobol and Ekibastuz. Repair centre, Bogie centre and Corporate office are located in Astana.