KiwiRail’s first DM class locomotive has officially entered service, operating the route from Christchurch to Timaru on New Zealand’s South Island.
This marks the beginning of the trial journeys phase, in which the new locomotives will travel more than 5000 kilometres across the network.
Over the past seven months, KiwiRail and its partners at rolling stock manufacturer Stadler in Spain have been working together to develop and carry out a detailed testing programme.
This included “rigorous” trials throughout the South Island, including the notoriously challenging Otira to Arthur’s Pass route.
During the testing phase, Justin Young, mechanical engineer at KiwiRail, said: “Regulatory-wise, the DMs fall into this category where it’s a new vehicle to New Zealand.
“We have to satisfy the regulator, really making sure that they’re doing what the current standards around the world are doing, and we’ve done our best to ensure that the locomotives are safe and fit for purpose.”
Young said two locomotives had to go through the testing program in New Zealand before the rest of the locomotives were shipped over from Valencia.
“It’s really easy to fix two locomotives while they’re in New Zealand, but it starts to become a challenge when there’s up to ten locomotives at once,” he explained.
Kyle Swainson, Locomotive Engineer with KiwiRail, said the switch to DMs is like going from a 1960s car to a modern 2020 vehicle.
“It’s a lot more comfortable, it’s a lot more quiet. The air con is a big thing for us – we’re not used to having air con!
“The creature comforts, from a loco engineer point of view, are amazing.
“The computer systems in the locomotives are also stand-out, compared to what we’re used to.”
Borja Rozalén Valcuende, Project Technical Leader in Design & Development Engineering at Stadler, said the locomotives were tailored to KiwiRail’s needs.
“It has been difficult at some points to achieve KiwiRail’s expectations, but I think we have built a very good product and the locomotives’ performance is going to be great here on the KiwiRail network.”
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