Designed for the Commonwealth of Independent States region’s wide temperature and operating conditions, the TE33AC locomotive features a 12-cylinder, 4,000-horsepower Evolution Series engine with EU3A emissions-level compliance, delivering high power output, enhanced productivity, greater flexibility, lower lifecycle costs, and improved reliability in heavy-haul operations. Compared to the legacy Moldovan fleet, the TE33AC can significantly reduce harmful emissions, economize on fuel and oil costs, and increase time between maintenance overhauls.
“Availability and reliability are vital factors as we seek to modernize our fleet to bring critical goods and resources to market,” Iurii Topala, Moldovan Railways CEO says. “With these new GE locomotives, we will get the added benefit of significant fuel savings as we will be able to use a single locomotive to haul trains, in place of two that we use today to carry the same amount of freight.”
The deal is part of the broader Project for the Restructuring and Reorganization of the State Enterprise Moldova Railways and includes funding from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank and the European Union.
“We are honored to be selected by Moldovan Railways for this important infrastructure investment,” said Gokhan Bayhan, GE Transportation’s General Manager, Russia/Commonwealth, Europe, Middle East, and North African market. “With this order, GE Transportation will have over 1,000 locomotives operating in eight countries in the region, bringing newfound performance and productivity to these vibrant economies.”
The locomotive kits will be produced in the U.S. later in 2019, and then shipped for regional manufacturing, with anticipated final delivery in 2020.
— A GE Transportation news release. Nov. 15, 2018.
This isn’t a Trains written article. It is simply a press release from GE meant for any news source. They always keep them concise and to the point.
Wikipedia entry on CFM railway in Moldova
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calea_Ferat%C4%83_din_Moldova
Map of CFM
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Railway_map_of_Moldova.png
The above article assumes that all readers know where the Moldovan Ry is, where that country is located and know the map and size of the Moldovan Ry, so Trains didn’t need to include any of that information. How many locomotives does that railway now operate? Another Google search necessary.