By Yelena Stasova
The Belarusian TME3 locomotive has been created jointly with Czech company CZ LOKO, to allow manoeuvrability on public tracks and the house tracks of industrial enterprises. It is to be used primarily at low-density stations.
In comparison with diesel locomotives of similar power and weight, the TME3 is much more efficient, using 30 percent less fuel and 60-75 percent less diesel. Its accessories, parts and components meet the highest standards in the fields of ecology and safety.
Eight such locomotives are to be produced in Lida this year, for sale to industrial enterprises in Belarus. By the end of 2014, about 20 locomotives should be in operation.
Lida locomotive depot is one of the largest enterprises of Belarusian Railways, transporting goods and passengers and making minor and major repairs to diesel trains and locomotives with hydraulic transmission.
Since 2010, it has been building TME locomotives; the TME1 and TME2 are already being used in the locomotive depots of Minsk, Vitebsk and Baranovichi.
