KNORR-BREMSE SECURES CONTRACT TO PROVIDE ELECTRONIC AIR BRAKE EQUIPMENT TO SPOORNET SOUTH AFRICA - December 15, 2005
Munich, Germany— Knorr-Bremse announced it has secured a contract to provide electronic braking and distributed power equipment to the South African railway company Spoornet. Under this contract Knorr-Bremse will retrofit 58 locomotives and about 3,000 coal wagons with electronically-controlled pneumatic (ECP) brakes, and wire distributed power (WDP) control systems, both developed by its subsidiary New York Air Brake (NYAB). Approximately 40% of the equipment will be manufactured locally at Knorr-Bremse South Africa.
The newly-developed ECP brakes provide much improved braking performance and stability for heavy-haul trains, while WDP permits the remote control of locomotives distributed along the train, reducing in-train forces. In combination, the technologies permit the use of heavier, longer, and faster trains, with improved safety, simpler operation, and lower operating costs. NYAB's systems, known as EP-60® and WireDP®, are the first systems approved by the Association of American Railroads under its ECP and WDP specifications. Their unique mechatronic design assures fast installation and high reliability.
"Spoornet will use the upgraded rolling stock on Coal Link, its export coal line to move coal 680 km from mines situated 1500 m above sea level to the port of Richards Bay. The new technology controls in a first step a train with 200 wagons and 6 locomotives with a length of 2.7 km length. This will allow Spoornet to move significantly more coal over the line. Spoornet is the first railroad organization in the world to approve conversion of an entire segment of its operation to ECP brakes.
"Spoornet's decision to implement ECP brakes and WDP represent the beginning of a new era for heavy-haul railroading" said Dr. Dieter Wilhelm, Board Member of Knorr-Bremse AG responsible for the company's worldwide railway activities. "Spoornet is showing great leadership in implementing this state-of-the-art technology and will surely be followed by others in the global heavy-haul railway market."
"Our goal is to increase the capacity to transport more coal for the export market," said Spoornet spokesperson Molatwane Likhethe." The improved performance of the ECP brake system will also allow us to deliver a safer, more reliable and efficient service."
Spoornet, the railway operating unit of Transnet, a transportation and logistics company owned by the government of South Africa.
The Knorr-Bremse Group is the world's leading manufacturer of braking systems for rail and commercial vehicles. For 100 years now, the company has pioneered the development, production, and marketing of state-of-the-art braking systems. Other lines of business include automatic door systems, rail vehicle air conditioning systems, and torsional vibration dampers. To find out more about Knorr-Bremse, visit www.Knorr-Bremse.com.
New York Air Brake Corporation, a member of the Knorr-Bremse Group, supplies air brake control systems and components, electronically controlled braking systems, foundation brakes, training simulators and driver information systems to the freight railroad industry. NYAB has facilities in Watertown, New York, where it is headquartered, and in Fort Worth, Texas and Kingston, Ontario, Canada. To find out more about NYAB, visit www.nyab.com
For further information contact:
EUROPE: Knorr-Bremse AG, Eva Seifert, Vice President Corporate Communications, Moosacher Strasse 80, 80809 Munich, Germany, Tel: +49 89-3547-1402, Fax: +49 89-3547-1403, eva.seifert@knorr-bremse.com;
USA: New York Air Brake Corporation, Marshall Beck, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Sales, 748 Starbuck Avenue, Watertown, NY 13601 Tel: (315) 786-5431, Fax: (315) 786-5676, marshall.beck@nyab.com;
South Africa: Knorr-Bremse S.A. Stuart Scott, Senior Manager Rail Division, 3 Derrick Road, Spartan, Kempton Park 1619, South Africa, Tel: +9-011-27-11-961-7822, Fax: 9-011-975-8249, stuart.scott@knorr-bremse.com;
China: Knorr-Bremse Far East Ltd. Albert Wong, General Manager Rail Systems Division, Suite 2901, 29/F., Central Plaza, 18 Harbour Road, Hong Kong, China, Tel: +852 2804 1441, Fax: +852 2520 6000, albert.wong@knorr-bremse.com;
Australia: Knorr-Bremse Australia Pty. Ltd., Michael McLellan, Managing Director, 1/2D Factory Street, PO Box 180, Granville, NSW 2142, Australia, Tel: +61 2 8863-6501, Fax: +612 8863-6510, michael.mclellan@knorr-bremse.com;
Brazil: Knorr-Bremse Sistemas para Veículos Ferroviários Ltda., Marcio Lacerda, Managing Director, Av. Engenheiro Eusébio Stevaux, 1071, Jurubatuba, São Paulo, Cep: 04696-902, Brazil, Tel: +55 11 5681-1125, Fax: +55 11 5521-1722, marcio.lacerda@knorr-bremse.com
