Procurement of traction vehicles for TENT begins – First Chinese engine arrives, another to come in six months

EPS has procured a new electric engine, the first one after three decades, which will enable a more reliable transport of coal to the Thermal Power Plant Nikola Tesla (TENT), and the acting director of EPS, Milorad Grcic said that the procurement marked the beginning of the replenishing of traction vehicles at TENT. Grcic announces that another engine would arrive from China six months later.

EPS is procuring the engines from the Chinese partners in line with a RSD 533 million contract.

The arrival of the new engine marks the beginning of the replenishment of traction vehicles at TENT, where the average age of engines is around 40 years. The latest generation engine was made for EPS by the Chinese company CRRC ZELC.

– This is a big day for EPS. The value of the contract is maybe not extremely high, but, considering the fact that this is the first engine to arrive to EPS after 30 years and that the average age of the engines is 40 years, this is a very important day – Grcic emphasized.

The Chinese engine will be used on one of the busiest industrial railways in Europe, by which up to 100,000 tons of coal are transported daily from the mining sites of the Kolubara basin to TENT.

– The engine is twice as powerful as the ones currently used at TENT, consumes less electricity thanks to its system for sending back unused electricity, is less polluting and less noisy. It can also operate in adverse winter conditions – Grcic emphasized.

CRRC ZELC is the biggest Chinese rail vehicle producer, taking orders from all over the world. In Europe, they worked for Turkey, Macedonia, Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany... The president of CRRC ZELC expressed hope that the company would take part in the development of railway transport in Serbia and reminded that China was implementing the Belt and Road program in cooperation with Europe, as well as cooperation with 16 countries of Central and Eastern Europe.

The contract was signed a year ago and a modern engine was sent from China as agreed, twice as powerful as the ones currently owned by TENT. The engine has 120 tons and is 21.7 meters long.

The new engine can run at up to 140 km/h, is capable of operating in various weather conditions, is equipped with modern protection systems and features eight security cameras. The engine's position can also be tracked from a remote control center and there's also a possibility of remote detection of malfunctions.

Akcionarsko društvo Elektroprivreda Srbije Beograd

CRRC ZELC

EPS

CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive

electric engines

TENT

TENT Railway Transport

Milorad Grcic

TENT traction vehicles