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The New Zealand DM class [nb 1] of 66 [1] [4] diesel-electric locomotives are currently under manufacture for New Zealand rail operator KiwiRail by Stadler Rail in Spain. The locomotives are expected to be introduced between 2024 and 2026. [2]
In March 2020, KiwiRail released a tender for new mainline locomotives to replace the 47-strong DX class, [5] which were nearly 50 years old at the time. The 2021 New Zealand budget allocated NZD$722.7 million to purchase new mainline locomotives, shunt locomotives and wagons. [6]
On 11 October 2021 Stadler Rail announced it had won the contract to supply 57 new locomotives for KiwiRail. [7] Stadler stated the contract was worth €228 million, [7] or NZD$403 million. [2] [8] The Rail & Maritime Transport Union, the main union representing KiwiRail staff, welcomed the purchase. [9] The company had previously won a contract to supply 34 similar locomotives to the Taiwan Railway Administration in 2019. [10] [11]
In February 2024, KiwiRail and Stadler announced an order for a further nine DM class locomotives equipped with European Train Control System (ETCS) technology for deployment on the North Island rail network. [4] The last ten locomotives from the first order will also be fitted with ETCS, bringing the total number of ETCS-fitted DM class locomotives in the North Island to 19. ETCS will enable the locomotives to operate in the Auckland metro area, which is fitted with ETCS Level 1 signalling, and future proofs the class to safely operate in the Wellington metro area once trackside signalling there is upgraded to ETCS.
KiwiRail has stated the locomotives will be classified as class "DM". [3] The original impression of the design showed the numbering to be in the 10,000 series. Mock-ups of the locomotive cab show numbers in the 6000 series, which has not been used since the withdrawal of the DQ and QR class locomotives. [12] It was reported in late 2022 that the design phase had been completed, and the first locomotives are now in production, to be completed in mid-2024. [13] As of November 2023, the class numbering is in the 8000 series. [14]
KiwiRail posted a video on their Facebook page on 8 February 2024 of the prototype locomotive at the Stadler manufacturing plant in Spain. The short clip shows one of the new DM locomotives running on a factory track under its own power. The post stated that the first two locomotives will join the KiwiRail fleet later in 2024. [15]
The first two locomotives, DM8012 and DM8029, were unloaded from the Eemslift Nadine at the Port of Lyttleton in Christchurch on 19 October 2024. [16] They were described as the prototypes and will be commissioned at the KiwiRail Middleton Depot and undergo six months of in-service trials. [17]
Although prototype diesel locomotives ran in Britain before World War II, the railways of both the Republic and Northern Ireland changed over much more rapidly from steam to diesel traction than those in Britain, due to the island's limited coal reserves and an ageing steam locomotive fleet.
The NZR RM class Silver Fern was a class of rail motor in New Zealand. The three air-conditioned and sound-proofed 723-kW 96-seater diesel-electric twin-set railcars were built by Kawasaki under contract with Nissho Iwai of Japan. New Zealand Railways (NZR) classified the railcars as RM (Rail Motor), the same as other railcars, using the Silver Ferns (a national symbol of New Zealand) because of their exterior was made of corrugated stainless steel, like the premier night sleeper train that also ran on the Wellington-Auckland (North Island Main Trunk) route, the Silver Star. The Silver Ferns replaced the three successful Blue Streak railcars on the service.
The New Zealand EF class locomotive is a class of 25 kV 50 Hz AC electric locomotives that operate on the North Island Main Trunk (NIMT) between Palmerston North and Te Rapa in New Zealand. Built by Brush Traction in Loughborough, England between 1986 and 1988 to run on the new electrified central section of the NIMT, at 3,000 kilowatts (4,000 hp), they are the most powerful locomotives to operate in New Zealand.
Stadler Rail AG is a Swiss manufacturer of railway rolling stock, with an original emphasis on regional train multiple units and trams, but moving also into underground, high speed, intercity and sleeper trains. It also produces niche products, such as being one of the last European manufacturers of rack railway rolling stock. Stadler Rail is headquartered at its place of origin in Bussnang, Switzerland. Stadler Rail employed 13,900 employees by 2023.
The New Zealand DC class locomotive is a type of diesel-electric mainline locomotive on the New Zealand rail network, operated by KiwiRail on freight trains, and formerly on long-distance passenger trains. The class was rebuilt from the DA class in the late 1970s and early 1980s, mainly in Australia. After the DA class, they were the most numerous class of diesel locomotive on New Zealand's railway network and remained numerically dominant until the mid-2010s when withdrawals began.
The New Zealand DX class locomotive is a type of 49 Co-Co diesel-electric locomotives that currently operate on New Zealand's national railway network. All locomotives are owned by KiwiRail.
The New Zealand DA class locomotive were a class of diesel-electric mainline locomotives operated on the New Zealand railway system between 1955 and 1989. Consisting of 146 locomotives, it was the most numerous class to ever operate in New Zealand, with five more than the AB class steam locomotive.
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The New Zealand DSC class locomotive is a heavy shunting locomotive used throughout New Zealand. The class was built in seven batches, the first 18 locomotives being built by British Thomson-Houston of the United Kingdom, with the further 52 locomotives being built by New Zealand Railways (NZR).
The Pahiatua Railcar Society (PRS) is a society located in Pahiatua, New Zealand, dedicated to the restoration of railcars and other locomotives and rolling stock formerly operated by the New Zealand Railways Department. It is notable for possessing the sole remaining examples of the RM class 88 seater and Wairarapa railcars.
KiwiRail Holdings Limited is a New Zealand state-owned enterprise (SOE) responsible for rail operations in New Zealand and operates inter-island ferries. Trading as KiwiRail and headquartered at 604 Great South Road, Ellerslie, KiwiRail is the largest rail transport operator in New Zealand. KiwiRail has business units of KiwiRail Freight, Great Journeys New Zealand and Interislander. The company was formed in 2008 when the government renationalised above-rail operations and inter-island ferry operations, then owned by Toll Holdings. In 2021, the government launched the New Zealand Rail Plan, with funding for rail projects to come from the National Land Transport Fund (NLTF), and with KiwiRail remaining an SOE but paying Track Access Charges (TACs) to use the network.
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The Stadler Eurolight is the brand name for a family of 4-axle Bo'Bo' mainline diesel-electric locomotives with sub-20-tonne axleloads for passenger and freight trains produced by Stadler Rail.
The Class 68 is a type of mainline mixed traffic diesel-electric locomotive manufactured by Stadler Rail Valencia for Direct Rail Services (DRS) in the United Kingdom. The design is derived from the Stadler Eurolight, and Stadler's product name for this variant is the UKLight.
The Stadler EuroDual is a series of dual power, electro-diesel locomotive by Stadler Rail Valencia. Unlike traditional dual mode locomotives, fitted with relatively low-powered diesel engines for 'last mile' movements only, vehicles are typically furnished with power units more comparable to that of mainline diesel locomotives.
The National Railway Museum of New Zealand (NRM) is a museum under construction in Christchurch, New Zealand that covers the history of the New Zealand railway network. Work is underway to open at Ferrymead Heritage Park in Ferrymead, Christchurch, at the site of New Zealand's first railway opened in 1863.
Railway electrification in New Zealand consists of three separate electric systems, all on the North Island. Electrification was initially adopted by the New Zealand Railways for long tunnels; the Otira Tunnel, the Lyttelton Rail Tunnel and the two Tawa Tunnels of the Tawa Flat Deviation. Electrification of Wellington suburban services started with the Johnsonville Line and Kapiti Line out of Wellington from the 1930s. Auckland suburban services were electrified in 2014–2015. Electrification of long-distance services on the North Island Main Trunk (NIMT) dates from 1986. New long tunnels, for example the Rimutaka Tunnel and the Kaimai Tunnel, were operated by diesels, and the Otira and Lyttelton Tunnels have converted to diesel operation.
The British Rail Class 93 is a tri-mode locomotive built by Stadler Rail in Valencia. It is an evolution of the Class 88 bi-mode locomotive, which was built by Stadler for Direct Rail Services. Three different power sources are used to power the locomotive – 4,000 kW (5,400 hp) 25 kV AC overhead electric power, or a 900 kW (1,200 hp) diesel engine supplemented by a 400 kW (540 hp) battery – allowing the locomotive to be used on both electrified and non-electrified lines.
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