(New York Air Brake issued the following news release on May 22.)
WATERTOWN, N.Y. — New York Air Brake (NYAB) announced today that it will supply an integrated package of the CCB II computer-controlled brake, EP-60 electronically-controlled pneumatic brakes, and Wire DP distributed power for 110 new Spoornet locomotives. The systems will be applied to electric locomotives operating on Coal Link, Spoornet’s 680 km export coal line from the mines to the port of Richards Bay, South Africa. The locomotives will be in addition to the previously announced fleet conversion to ECP braking.
Spoornet is the first railroad in the world to approve conversion of an entire segment of its operation to ECP brakes. “Our goal is to increase capacity and transport more coal for the export market,” said Spoornet spokesperson Molatwane Likhethe. “The improved performance of the ECP brake system will also allow us to deliver a safer, more reliable and efficient service.”
“The time is coming for ECP brakes,” Marshall Beck, NYAB senior vice president of marketing and sales, said. “The EP-60 system delivers fuel savings in the range of three to four percent, better train handling, and safety by shortening stops, and lower maintenance costs by reducing in-train forces and the resulting wear and tear on cars. Spoornet’s leadership may convince the heavy-haul railway market to invest in this state-of-the-art technology.”
Spoornet is the railway operating unit of Transnet, a transportation and logistics company owned by the government of South Africa.
New York Air Brake Corporation, a member of the Knorr-Bremse Group, supplies air brake control systems and components, electronically controlled braking systems, foundation brakes, training simulators and driver information systems to the freight railroad industry. NYAB has facilities in Watertown, New York, where it is headquartered, and in Fort Worth, Texas and Kingston, Ontario, Canada. To find out more about NYAB, visit www.nyab.com.