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Article: Spoornet Cannot Afford A Technical Symphony.
- Article from:
- International Railway Journal
- Article date:
- June 1, 2000
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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NEW locomotives for Spoornet, South Africa, need to be flexible and designed with periodic upgrades in mind. Spoornet, the South African railway operator, has a fleet of about 1700 electric and 1100 diesel-electric locomotives. The average age is 24 years, though a considerable number is more than 30 years old.
Mr Zandile Jakavula, the new chief executive officer of Spoornet, told a UIC user/producer conference on electric traction in Johannesburg in March, that they needed a solution to the dilemma that a large part of the fleet was equipped with ancient technology that was now very difficult to maintain.
By comparison, he noted, the average age of ...