Alstom opens Silk Road locomotive repair centre

Alstom has inaugurated a depot in Astana which will undertake the corrective and preventive maintenance and overhaul of Prima KZ8A freight and KZ4AT passenger locomotives under a 25-year contract with national railway KTZ.

The 2 660 m² facility includes a repair and testing hall, spare parts stores and office space. It will maintain products manufactured by Alstom, as well subsystems including pantographs, transformers and braking systems from other suppliers. The number of staff at the site is expected to grow from 18 to 30 by the end of 2020.

The inauguration of Alstom’s first repair centre in Kazakhstan ‘is a very important milestone’ for the company, said Managing Director, CIS, Bernard Peille. He said it was the only repair centre for modern traction and braking systems in the Central Asian region, and would help to strengthen Alstom’s presence for the long term by developing local competencies and opening opportunities for export to neighbouring countries.

‘Through the implementation of new technology and developing local expertise, we are proud to get Kazakhstan’s industrial base to a new level, opening promising prospects for the country as an important hub linking Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Russia through the new Silk Road’, he said.