SR to export metre-gauge locomotives to Mozambique

Tiruchirapalli, Sep 4 (UNI) The Southern Railway will export five metre-gauge diesel locomotives to Mozambique, each at a cost of Rs 90 lakh.

Since the SR was nearing completion of the phasing out of metre- gauge train operations, it was disposing of the metre-gauge locomotives and coaches to the needy countries, SR Chief Mechanical Engineer V Garmelus told reporters here today.

The locomotives would be exported to Mozambique within ten days.

It was also proposed to export two diesel metre-gauge locomotives to Tanzania this year, he said.

There were 400 metre-gauge sleeper class coaches with the SR as against its present requirement of 150 coaches, Mr Garmelus said, adding that it would export 23 such coaches, each at a cost of Rs 28 lakh, to Tanzania after making suitable alterations like change of coupler and brake system.

Mr Garmelus said the Railway Board had sanctioned Rs 75 crore for modernising the Golden Rock Railway Workshop here to increase its wagon production from the present capacity of 700 to 1,000 per annum. Establishment of a Rs 30 crore worth engineering block for machine-related works would be part of the modernisation programme.

Tenders were floated for a Rs 18 crore project to set up a new engineering workshop to meet the requirement of periodical overhauling of the high horse power locomotives, he said.

The SR had also placed orders for manufacturing 240 Boxnhl wagons, with higher payload capacity of 71 tonnes as against the 68 tonnes in normal wagons, he added.

UNI