• 20 Feb 2018

In occasion of the Russian Investment Forum in Sochi, on 15 February 2018 Gazprom has signed a new accord with Russian Railways (RZD), Sinara-Transport Machines and Transmashholding (TMH) to implement the Agreement of Cooperation in the Gas Sector marked on 2016 and to  employ new LNG-powered locomotives. (See ConferenzaGNL news)

The new agreement  was signed by Vitaly Markelov, Deputy Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, Sergey Kobzev, Deputy Chief Executive Officer – Chief Engineer of Russian Railways, Sergey Papin, President of Sinara-Transport Machines (part of Sinara Group), and Alexander Yermonsky, Deputy CEO for Technical Development of Transmash holding.

In accordance with the new Program, Russian Railways plans to increase the fleet of mainline gas turbine locomotives and gas turbine shunters powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG) on the Sverdlovsk Railway, from 3 to 22 units by 2023.

For refuelling purposes, Gazprom intends to build two small-scale LNG production facilities at the gas distribution stations in Tobolsk and Surgut, as well as platforms for mobile refuellers at the Voynovka and Surgut stations.

Based on Russian Railways' specifications, the two Russian machine-building companies have manufactured two mainline gas turbine locomotives (Sinara) and one gas turbine shunter locomotive (TMH), all of them powered by LNG, that are already  in regular service at the Egorshino –  Alapayevsk – Serov-Sortirovochny section of the Sverdlovsk Railway.

Pursuant to the Program, manufacturers (Sinara Group and Transmashholding) will take measures to improve the designs of gas-powered locomotives and to develop new series of gas-powered vehicles.

So far, Sinara has certified a GT1h gas-turbine locomotive which hauled a 9,000-tonne train for 700km without refuelling, and has prepared a production site for series production. TMH has built an 880kW type TEM19 liquefied-natural-gas shunting locomotive, which has also been successfully tested by Sverdlovsk Railway.