San Martín locomotives arrive in Argentina

A batch of 20 CRRC locomotives for Argentina’s 1676mm-gauge San Martín Railway was unloaded at the port of Buenos Aires on May 30.

The six-axle units were built at CRRC’s plant in Qishuyan, China, and are part of an order for 67 broad-gauge and 10 standard-gauge locomotives for Argentinean Trains Cargo. The first two units for the San Martín Railway arrived in Argentina at the end of last year.

The locomotives are equipped with MTU 16V 4000 R43 engines, which generate an output of 2.2MW.

The renewal of the locomotive fleet is part of a broader project to rehabilitate the line, which links the province of Mendoza with the ports of Buenos Aires and Rosario.

Upgrading of infrastructure and modernisation of motive power and rolling stock is expected to increase the line’s capacity from 2.3 million tonnes to more than 13 million tonnes by 2024.