EffiShunters 300 from CZ LOKO head to the Balkans

11.03.2019

After thirteen produced EffiShunter 300 locomotives for the domestic market CZ LOKO succeeded with this type also abroad. In particular, the Serbian railway administrator Infrastruktura železnice Srbije a.d. will receive two of these machines in the course of next year. Both locomotives will be deployed mainly during closures. Therefore, they will be applied not only for shunting, but also at the front of lighter work trains.

“Searching for new opportunities on foreign markets is one of the main priorities of CZ LOKO. The development of our Balkan activities is one of the ways to meet this goal. We see Serbia as an important transit country, which has recently invested heavily in the renewal of transport infrastructure,” said Lubomír Dlábik, Sales Team Leader, who is responsible for business development in Southeastern and Eastern Europe at CZ LOKO.

The production of two EffiShunter 300 locomotives follows on previous successes in Serbia. CZ LOKO locomotives are not unknown on the local railways. The first locomotives supplied to the Serbian railways were remotorized Class 704.507 and 536 locomotives in 2001, which were designated 621-301 and 302 here. This was followed by the production of twelve new Class 621-1 locomotives, two of which were supplied to the Kolubara power plant. The first success with a locomotive from the current portfolio in Serbia was in 2016, when CZ LOKO supplied EffiShunter 500 to the GAZPROM NEFT NIS refinery.

EffiShunter 300 locomotives will be produced in a serial version with a 328kW CAT C13 engine. They will keep the maximum speed of 60 km/h and basic technical parameters, such as AC/DC power transfer or the weight of 36 tons. A certain difference will be the installation of a Serbian speedometer and Indusi automatic train control system.

Infrastruktura železnice Srbije a.d. will become the fourth European operator of EffiShunter 300 locomotives.

EffiShunter 300 is designed for shunting and hauling of lighter trains. Thanks to its dimensions, EffiShunter 300 can also be used in metros and on other special railways. This is also confirmed by the success of last year, when CZ LOKO won the contract for the supply of this locomotive class for the Warsaw metro.