OREANDA-NEWS. February 24, 2016. Rolls-Royce has received orders for the delivery of a total of 100 MTU Series 4000 engines from Chinese locomotive manufacturer China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC). The total contract value is above €30 million. The 16V 4000 R43 type engines will be delivered to CRRC to build 100 freight locomotives, which is part of the contract with the main contractor CMEC (China Machinery Engineering Corporation). In turn they will be exported to Argentina for service with Belgrano Cargas y Logisticas S.A. of the Argentinian Ministry of Interior and Transport. The MTU 16V 4000 R43 type diesel engines each have a power output of 2,200 kilowatts. The MTU brand is part of Rolls-Royce Power Systems

“We are pleased that again CRRC trusts MTU to deliver engines for one of its important projects,” said Dr Ulrich Dohle, CEO at Rolls-Royce Power Systems. “This order underscores the importance of our relationship with CRRC and our presence in the Chinese market,” Dr Dohle added.

The order is the fourth major project between MTU and CRRC, the world’s biggest rolling stock manufacturer. It follows the orders for 232 engines for freight locomotives for South African operator Transnet and 48 engines for freight locomotives for New Zealand rail operator Kiwi Rail as well as an earlier order by the Argentinian Ministry of Interior and Transport for 20 locomotive engines. The 100 new locomotives will be built by CRRC subsidiaries CRRC Dalian, CRRC Quishuyan, CRRC Beijing and CRRC Ziyang. CRRC is scheduled to receive all engines by 2016. Produced in Friedrichshafen, Germany, the first 70 engines have already been delivered.

The orders come at a time when China has agreed to increase the amount of project financing to strengthen Argentina’s rail freight network. CRRC is expected to establish a manufacturing and maintenance presence in the country.