Six new locomotives are set to add more grunt to the Port of Tauranga's rail network.
The double-cab diesel locomotives, scheduled to land at the port this week, are among 20 on order at a cost of around $80 million and will be the first new locomotives to arrive in New
Zealand in nearly 35 years.
Expected to be in service before Christmas, they will be used on the Auckland-Hamilton-Tauranga "golden triangle" freight route and on Bay of Plenty forestry routes.
Built by China's Dalian Locomotive and Rolling Stock Co, they have a 2700kW engine with similar pulling power to the electric locomotives used on the North Island Main Trunk line.
They are also expected to be 5 to 10 per cent more fuel efficient than an existing fleet engine, and where they replace two existing locomotives the fuel saving will almost reach the 30 per cent mark.
Port of Tauranga chief executive Mark Cairns said the new locomotives would see better transport of more containers to the port: "It will be much more efficient than two trains doing the same amount of work."
Mr Cairns said they would contribute to the growth of the port, which was recently favoured over the Ports of Auckland by a major exporters group as a future international hub.
A Kiwirail spokeswoman said the Government's commitment to funding the new locomotives would bring efficiency and capacity gains on key freight routes: "The age and limited size of our existing fleet of locomotives and wagons presents a major challenge to growth in the freight business."
The newest diesel locomotives in the current fleet were bought between 1972 and 1976. The remaining 14 locomotives are due early next year and will be deployed around the North Island.
