New ‘EMD’ passenger diesel locos built in Argentina
ARGENTINIAN national rail operator Trenes Argentinos has taken delivery of the first main line diesel loco to be built in the country in recent decades. During the last 10 years, all new locomotives introduced in Argentina were made in China. The first of two new six-axle 1676mm gauge diesel locos built by Materfer in Córdoba province, designated as type MTF3300 by the builder, were delivered to Haedo depot in Buenos Aires in early October. Trenes Argentinos intends to use the new locos, which weigh 114.7 tonnes and have a maximum speed of 130kph equipped with 6000 litre fuel tanks, to expand passenger services on the Sarmiento Line in the near future. Services which currently operate from Once station in Buenos Aires to Bragado will be extended further west to Pehuajó, although the exact timescale for this is currently unclear.
The 16-cylinder, 3300hp, EMD 16645-E3B engine used in the otherwise entirely new locomotives are reconditioned power units originally used in BNSF SD40-2 locomotives in the USA; Materfer bought four such locos second-hand in the last decade. The new MTF3300 design is capable of conversion (by exchanging bogies) for use on all the gauges in use in Argentina (1000/1435/1676mm).