SPOORNET'S LOCOMOTIVE fleet is to undergo a major refurbishment and replacement programme to be carried out during the next 15 years with an average annual investment of R1 billion, says Leo Petkoon, the company's general manager, planning and technology.
Spoornet has a total fleet of 3 202, which includes
1 932 electrical and 1 270 diesel-electric locomotives. The average age of the fleet is 26 years of which 2 488 locomotives have a technological age greater than 20 years, he says.
The age of the locomotives is reflected in performances and the cost to maintain. The fleet is crucial to the sustainability of Spoornet as a company, hence the decision to embark on a programme to generate a locomotive investment plan.
The programme, he says, includes an international inquiry to validate available technology, cost, resulting performance and delivery schedules.
Now included in the investment plan are all
the efficiency improvements expected from
maintenance planning and
execution, train plan influences and locomotive
distribution management influences. The plan encompasses re-engineering certain sub-fleets and the procurement of new technology locomotives to obtain optimal performance and cascade of the fleet. Throughout the 15-year period, the total fleet will reduce from the present 3 202 to
1 551 by 2 015.
One of the aims, says Petkoon, is to have greater standardisation in the fleet, which will enable the
swopping of modules around the locomotives when necessary, in itself a major cost-saving factor The first step will be the upgrading of the electronic control systems, and then from 2004 you'll start seeing a totally new type of locomotive moving along our tracks.
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