The CNR CKD8 is a diesel-electric

locomotive A locomotive is a rail transport, rail vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. Traditionally, locomotives pulled trains from the front. However, Push–pull train, push–pull operation has become common, and in the pursuit for ...

manufactured by

China CNR Corporation China CNR Corporation Limited (CNR) was a primary manufacturer of locomotives and rolling stock for the Chinese market. The company has also exported to over 80 countries and regions, including Argentina, Australia, Brazil, France, Hong Kong, Ne ...

from 2013 onwards for use in

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

by state-owned

Trenes Argentinos Trenes Argentinos is the name that has been given since 2014 to a group of state-owned companies of Argentina, responsible for the operation of passenger and freight trains, infrastructure, and personal management. Although all its components are ...

, a subsidiary of Ferrocarriles Argentinos S.E. The CKD8G variant is used primarily on the Roca and

Sarmiento Sarmiento may refer to: Places Argentina *Sarmiento Department, San Juan, a subdivision of the San Juan Province * Sarmiento Department, Santiago del Estero, a subdivision of the Santiago del Estero Province * Sarmiento Department, Chubut, a subdi ...

railways, while the faster CKD8H is used on the San Martín and

Mitre The mitre (Commonwealth English) or miter (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, see spelling differences; both pronounced ; ) is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of ...

railways.

Technical specifications

The locomotive has one conductor's cabin on each end, connected by an internal corridor. Its total weight is 120 tonnes with a maximum weight per axle of 20 tonnes. The

four stroke A four-stroke (also four-cycle) engine is an internal combustion (IC) engine in which the piston completes four separate strokes while turning the crankshaft. A stroke refers to the full travel of the piston along the cylinder, in either directi ...

16V 4000R43 engine is manufactured by

MTU Friedrichshafen MTU Friedrichshafen GmbH, trading as MTU Solutions (stylised as mtu Solutions) is a German manufacturer of commercial internal combustion engines founded by Wilhelm Maybach and his son Karl Maybach in 1909. Wilhelm Maybach was the technical d ...

and generates 2200 kW at 1800 RPM. The locomotives are divided into two sub-models, the CKD8G and the CKD8H with the latter having a higher maximum speed and

tractive force Traction, traction force or tractive force is a force used to generate motion between a body and a tangential surface, through the use of either dry friction or shear force. It has important applications in vehicles, as in ''tractive effort''. ...

. Both have six axles with independent traction engines on each one and have both air and

dynamic braking Dynamic braking is the use of an electric traction motor as a generator when slowing a vehicle such as an electric or diesel-electric locomotive. It is termed " rheostatic" if the generated electrical power is dissipated as heat in brake grid re ...

systems.

Purchase and usage

The purchase agreement between the Ministry of Transport of Argentina and China CNR Corporation for 20 locomotives was signed in December 2009. The agreement also included the purchase of 220 long distance passenger carriages, while the total cost of each locomotive which arrived in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

from

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

is estimated to be just under US$2 million. The locomotives are operated by

and used on the

, Roca,

, and San Martín railways. Services departing from

Retiro railway station Retiro is a railway station complex in Buenos Aires, Argentina, that includes three main terminal train stations ( Retiro-Mitre, Retiro-Belgrano and Retiro-San Martín) and two terminal subway stations ( Retiro of Line C and Retiro of Line E ...

run to the cities of Cordoba,

San Miguel de Tucumán San Miguel de Tucumán (), usually called simply Tucumán, is the capital and largest city of Tucumán Province, located in northern Argentina from Buenos Aires. It is the fifth-largest city of Argentina after Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Argentin ...

, Rufino, and

Rosario Rosario () is the largest city in the central provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Santa Fe Province, Santa Fe. The city, located northwest of Buenos Aires on the west bank of the Paraná River, is the third-most populous city in the ...

, while those departing from Constitución go to points such as

Mar del Plata Mar del Plata is a city on the coast of the Argentine Sea, Atlantic Ocean, in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the seat of General Pueyrredón Partido, General Pueyrredón district. Mar del Plata is the second largest city in Buenos Aires ...

. In November 2014 the

Nigerian Government The federal government of Nigeria is composed of three distinct branches: the executive, the legislative, and the judicial, whose powers are vested and bestowed upon by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. One of the primary f ...

signed a contract with CRRC for refurbishment on the Abuja-Kaduna railway. The locomotives were delivered on the 15 January 2018.

References

{{Rolling stock manufacturers of Argentina CRRC Dalian locomotives Diesel–electric locomotives of Argentina Railway locomotives introduced in 2013 5 ft 6 in gauge locomotives

Technical specifications

Purchase and usage

See also

References