Lack of locomotives Achilles heel Transit development and rail freight / Rail to take advantage of road competition

Fars News Agency – Saeed Moazeni: ‌One of the problems of the country’s railway fleet these days is the lack of locomotives.بق Documents of the vision document of the rail transport sector should reach the share of 20% of the country’s passengers and 30% of cargo by 1404, currently about 90% of the movements are by road transport, 7% by rail transport and 3% is done by air.

However, in order to achieve this goal, the railway fleet must be increased and upgraded, and one of the main issues in the development of the fleet is the increase of locomotives and traction fleets, which the railways are struggling with these days.

According to the news received after the outbreak coronavirus Especially the disputes in Ukraine and Russia, the demand for transit transportation of the railway fleet from our country has increased, but due to the lack of locomotives, many of these demands have remained unanswered.

* Locomotive imports from China and Russia are off the railway agenda

Previously, the Railway Company of the Islamic Republic of Iran was scheduled, in addition to using the capacity within the locomotive production, مبهفاوت Provide the difference between the need for lethal in the form of direct import of locomotives from China and Russia.

The management team of the railway company was trying to solve the shortage problem by purchasing new railway tractors from abroad. Locomotive To solve the railway problem, the CEO of the Railway Company of the Islamic Republic of Iran announced the purchase of 1,000 new tractors for a period of three years, and during a visit to Russia, talks were held to fulfill this promise with Locomotives Russian did.

But on Saturday, May 15 of this year, in the Article 90 Commission of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, the issue of importing 200 rail locomotives from China and how to comply with the law of maximum use of the country’s production and service capacity and protection of Iranian goods were discussed.

In this meeting, the chairman of the Article 90 Commission, the Minister صمتوزارت Deputy Minister of Transportation صمتCEO of Railway Department Mapna And the CEO of Railroad were present.

At the meeting, the initial conclusion was that first, as much as the domestic production capacity for the locomotive, contracts should be managed and adjusted by the railway company, and after concluding contracts and completing the domestic capacity, if necessary, through foreign countries, but only by manufacturers. Internal and in accordance with the law of domestic manufacturing share and technology appendix in accordance with the law, to meet such needs.

At this meeting, it was decided that the issue of direct import of locomotives from China and Russia by rail should be removed from the agenda of the Railway Company of the Islamic Republic of Iran due to non-compliance with current laws and regulations and contrary to the general policies of the system.

Also, a joint team consisting of the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development and the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Trade, were in charge of accurately determining the capacity of domestic producers so that they could have real capacity. Locomotives Domestic should be counted in the next five years, and if there is a surplus need, lethal purchases from abroad should be made by forming a consortium consisting of domestic manufacturers.

* Production and reconstruction of 3106 rail fleets in / import from 98 was zero

In order to investigate the use of domestic capacity by the railway, the Fars reporter tried to gather information about it.

According to the follow-up on the issue of import control of the railway fleet, it was determined with the coordination of the Ministry صمتابت Since the beginning of 1398, no railway fleet has been imported from abroad, and during this period, 3,104 railway fleets (locomotives, freight wagons and passengers) have been produced or reconstructed in the country, which has increased by 98% compared to the same days.

At present, we have achieved a 90% share of domestic production in freight wagon production and we are trying to achieve complete self-sufficiency. Production of freight wagons with an axial load of 25 tons is also one of the plans for 1401.

* Reducing the share of domestic production in locomotive production

In the production of locomotives, from 60% share at the end of 1398, we have reached about 80% at the end of 1400, and the construction inside the hook, locomotive brake system and diesel engine block is also completing the testing and acceptance stages. In the production of passenger wagons, production share Inside is about 70%.

According to the follow-up, with the localization of the railway braking system, all the production capacities of the country have been used in the wagons produced in 1400 and it is planned to increase the production capacity of the braking system in 1401, now from the production capacity inside the wheels. منوبلوک It is used to meet part of the freight fleet maintenance needs and is planned to increase production capacity by the current manufacturer and other manufacturers in 1401 to compensate for the lack of production capacity and create better competitive conditions for consumers; The production capacity of wheel bandages was increased in 1401 to meet the maintenance needs of freight and passenger wagons.

According to the announcement OfficialsIn the railway company, launching a comprehensive system of prosperity and leap production of the railway industry (in two parts of the fleet and infrastructure) with the aim of «Introducing the existing capacities of in-house manufacturing in the country’s railway industry “,” ‌Prevent unnecessary import of parts »and»“Development and deepening of domestic construction was on the agenda by calling for participation in the jihad of self-sufficiency of the railway industry.”

According to the follow-ups, the total number of parts loaded in the system is 6826 item pens, which is the number of parts made inside 4733 item pens produced by 380 companies.

The number of imported parts loaded is 2093 pieces, which is a call for participation and cooperation in the domestic production of these parts.

* The growing trend of investment of non-governmental companies in the production of freight wagons

Production within the cargo fleet

Considering that in the past years, non-governmental sector companies have invested in the development of the freight fleet and the railway company has taken the necessary measures with comprehensive support, including the facilities of Article 12 of the Law on Removing Barriers to Production and Note 18 of the Annual Budget Law. As can be seen in the table, in the production of freight wagons, the growing trend of investment of non-governmental companies is well known. So that from the production of 103 freight wagons in 1394 to 1081 freight wagons in 1400.

However, in the production of locomotives, despite the demand to buy locomotives (according to the table below), ordering for in-house production of cargo locomotives, despite being economical and providing the mentioned facilities, has not been realized for the reasons mentioned below.

Demand for investment in locomotive purchases

* Reasons for the lack of optimal development of freight locomotives in recent years / 1000 We need a locomotive

Currently in the country, two companies «Mapna Locomotive “and” Pars Mina Wagon “are active in the field of locomotive production, both of which are owned by the company. Mapna Are located.

In the last five years (2017-1400), 38 locomotives have been built by the two companies (ie an average of about 8 locomotives per year), while according to the available upstream documents (paragraphs 24 and 25 of the general policy) The Sixth Development Plan, as well as paragraph B of Article 57 of the Sixth Plan Law, aims to strengthen rail transportation and achieve a 30% share of freight and 20% of passenger traffic for the Railway Company of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

According to experts, to achieve this goal, taking into account the existing fleet, it is estimated that 1000 locomotives will be needed, part of which will be met by using the maximum domestic production capacity and the rest will inevitably be met through imports.

* Targeting immediate supply of 200 locomotives / supply of 50 The device inside

According to Officials‌, in order to make optimal use of the country’s geographical conditions and location in order to develop transit corridors, strengthen the timely shipment of international goods, especially transit cargo, increase trade speed, timely shipment of basic goods, fuels and minerals of the country’s steel complexes and operation Optimal and maximum capacity of the country’s railway network and immediate supply of at least 200 locomotives is on the agenda.

However, according to experts, due to the limited capacity of domestic production and considering the maximum production of 50 locomotives per year by domestic companies, it is necessary to make necessary and immediate decisions on how to meet the remaining needs of locomotives.

Some follow-up shows that even preliminary investigations into how the locomotive was supplied from the oil refinery by Officials اما but no agreement has been reached yet ‌.

* 200 locomotives were grounded in three years

It was December 20, last year that Miad Salehi said at the opening ceremony of 526 units of various types of railway fleets: “Our international demands in the railway sector are not suitable and need to be updated. In the last 8 to 10 years, we are far behind our regional competitors.”

According to him, when I took over the railway company, only 500 hot (active) locomotives were operating in the country’s railway network, while 950 locomotives are active in the country’s railway fleet.

The CEO of the railway company also said that we have 15,000 kilometers of rails that require more locomotives, less than 200 locomotives have been grounded in the last three years (up to 1400), of which 60 to 70 have been grounded this year alone (1400). Was; The average age of passenger locomotives today is less than 10 years and freight locomotives more than 30 years, which if not rebuilt, double damage will occur.

He referred to the Sixth Development Plan, which achieves a 20 percent share of rail from passengers and 30 percent of freight, and said: “We are a long way from this prioritization of the Sixth Plan law, and the development of rail transport, which is an important route for economic growth, requires funding.” And has more time.

* The need to create “diversity in the production of domestic locomotives with a focus on the needs of the rail network and fuel consumption.”

Experts believe that in order to make optimal and maximum use of the capacity of the country’s rail network and increase the efficiency and productivity of the rail network, the use of locomotives with high power and traction capacity is inevitable.

In this area, it is necessary for the domestic manufacturer to think about diversifying the production of locomotives according to the needs of the country’s rail network and the amount of fuel consumption.

On the other hand, the daily readiness of domestically produced locomotives from the beginning of operation (in 1397) until now is equal to 53%.

* ‌ Reconstruction program of existing stopped car locomotives did not go well

In this regard, Mohammad Javad شاهجویی“The situation of rail tractors in the country is unfavorable and has become one of the serious challenges facing this industry, so that according to the announcement of the railway, a significant decline in transport performance,” said a transport economics expert in an interview with Fars News Agency. Freight and passenger rail in recent years has led to a low percentage of rail killer standby.

According to him, there are currently over 150 rail tractors in the network that need to be repaired and can be returned to service at a cost of 20% compared to the purchase of a new rail tractor.

According to the follow-up, in order to operate long-term stopped locomotives using the capacity of the non-governmental sector, reconstruction, maintenance and operation of 50 Alstom heavy-duty locomotives in 2017 by ROO method (reconstruction, maintenance and operation and transfer of ownership) with a 5-year contract with Company Mapna Signed.

Despite the actions taken by the investing company (MapnaOnly 9 devices were reconstructed and ready for operation, while so far at least 40 devices were ready for operation.

According to the authorities, the average readiness of these 9 devices has been about 46% since the beginning of operation, which is expected to be 90% due to the reconstruction of the mentioned locomotives.

* Ability to supply traction fleet from China / follow the assembly of Chinese locomotives inside ‌

So the report According Due to the sanctions, limited options are available for the locomotive’s external supply.

One of these options is to supply locomotives from China, which has economic exchanges with Iran. .

According to a follow-up, a knowledge-based company active in the field of rail fleet production has recently obtained the approval of a Chinese company to cooperate in the production of a model of Chinese cargo locomotives in the network.

* Attackونقل Riley wants an advantage to compete with the road

Therefore, the report, however, is one of the Achilles heel of the development of the country’s rail transportation today, the lack of traction and locomotive fleet. It has prevented the owners of goods from welcoming rail transportation.

On the other hand, the government is moving towards more use of the railway fleet, which is emphasized by all Officials The system has taken over, however, rail transport consumes less fuel (about one-seventh) than road transport, but the railway, as a clean and safe transport model, is not able to compete with road transport. .

The right of the road fleet to zero access to the network and the fuel subsidy of the road fleet are among the issues that lead the owners of goods to use the road fleet instead of the rail network.

Now, in these unequal conditions, the rail fleet has to compete with the road fleet, which has often taken advantage of it, while it is also in trouble as a locomotive as a traction fleet.

However, achieving the goals of the plan and the upstream documents in the field of railways requires special attention of the government, everyone emphasizes the development of rail transport, but it seems that to achieve this goal, a specific operational plan must be put on the agenda.

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