OREANDA-NEWS. June 05, 2012.  Russian Railways, Joint Stock Company Transmashholding and the company Progress Rail, a subsidiary of Caterpillar Incorporated, have signed a cooperation agreement to produce a gas-turbine shunting locomotive with a gas engine using on natural gas and a power rating of 1,000 kW. The agreement was signed by Vladimir Yakunin, President of Russian Railways, Andrei Andreyev, Managing Director of Closed Joint Stock Company Transmashholding, and Gerard R. Vittecoq, Group President of Caterpillar Inc, during the VII International Business Forum 1520 Strategic Partnership in Sochi on 31 May 2012.

The main area of cooperation is to begin, in Russia, the production of natural gas-fuelled shunting locomotives with high a commercial and environmental performance.

The main distinguishing feature of the gas locomotives is their use of natural gas as fuel. It is expected that the design of the new engine will be based on the undercarriage of the shunting locomotive TEM18DM. The power unit will be Caterpillar’s 1,000 kW gas turbine engine. The development of the design and the creation and testing of pilot vehicles should be completed by the end of 2013.