Indian Railways and Wabtec unveil first freight locomotive for export to West Africa

The first freight locomotive built in Bihar by Wabtec and Indian Railways will be shipped to West Africa the following month. The first Evolution Series ES43ACi locomotive for the TransGuinéen Railway was unveiled today by Wabtec Corporation and Rio Tinto SimFer, a joint venture between the Government of the Republic of Guinea, Rio Tinto, and Chalco Iron Ore Holdings (CIOH). La Compagnie de TransGuinéen, the joint venture company that will run the Simandou Railway, displayed the locomotive in its eye-catching blue and turquoise livery during the reveal.

Established in 2015 as a public-private partnership (PPP) between Indian Railways and Wabtec, the Marhowra facility has already delivered over 700 locomotives to the Railways over the past nine years.

It is part of SimFer’s 2024 locomotive order to support the rail operations for the Simandou high-grade iron ore project, located in the Southeast of Guinea and is Africa’s largest mining and infrastructure development project.

The event also commemorated the first and largest export order of heavy-haul locomotives assembled by the Wabtec plant in Marhowra, India. Wabtec’s ES43ACi locomotive is equipped with a 4,500HP Evolution Series diesel engine, designed and manufactured in the United States. It provides best-in-class fuel efficiency, and proven performance in high-temperature environments.

The Simandou mountain range subsoils contain world-class ore reserves of high-grade iron ore, estimated by Rio Tinto at around 1.5 billion tonnes. The project includes the development of a 600-km multi-use railway connecting the mine to the port located on the coast of the Forécariah prefecture in Guinea. The international investment in the project and its infrastructure represents a transformational opportunity for Guinea, which will support economic growth across the country.