by Toottee
Hello!
Is here anybody from Kazakhstan? I just wanted to clear for myself something that took my interest a while ago. Perhaps you know that GE has come to terms with Kazakhstan Temir Zholy, the state-owned rail company, for starting a manufacture of Evolution Series in that country.
As it is given in GE official website press release, "Under terms of the contract, GE will manufacture and ship 10 Evolution locomotives in 2008. The 10 units will be made at GE Transportation's locomotive manufacturing facility in Erie, Pennsylvania. Production and delivery of key components for 300 additional locomotives will take place from 2008 through 2012, with final assembly taking place at a new locomotive assembly plant in Pavlodar, Kazakhstan. Total value of the contract is more than $650 million (USD)."
Now, what surprises me, the Evolution Series locomotives fall far behind technological progress and do not meet ecological standards of Kazakhstan. At the same time, their axle loads are exceeding the limits of Kazakh rail roads, which implies increased deterioration. Besides, the project proves to be absolutely economically unsound for Kazakhstan and it prevents the country from creation of its own transportation engineering industries.
So the question is how did it happen that Kazakh authorities agreed to such a violent assumption? Maybe, GE had been lobbying it through some political means? Any ideas?
Is here anybody from Kazakhstan? I just wanted to clear for myself something that took my interest a while ago. Perhaps you know that GE has come to terms with Kazakhstan Temir Zholy, the state-owned rail company, for starting a manufacture of Evolution Series in that country.
As it is given in GE official website press release, "Under terms of the contract, GE will manufacture and ship 10 Evolution locomotives in 2008. The 10 units will be made at GE Transportation's locomotive manufacturing facility in Erie, Pennsylvania. Production and delivery of key components for 300 additional locomotives will take place from 2008 through 2012, with final assembly taking place at a new locomotive assembly plant in Pavlodar, Kazakhstan. Total value of the contract is more than $650 million (USD)."
Now, what surprises me, the Evolution Series locomotives fall far behind technological progress and do not meet ecological standards of Kazakhstan. At the same time, their axle loads are exceeding the limits of Kazakh rail roads, which implies increased deterioration. Besides, the project proves to be absolutely economically unsound for Kazakhstan and it prevents the country from creation of its own transportation engineering industries.
So the question is how did it happen that Kazakh authorities agreed to such a violent assumption? Maybe, GE had been lobbying it through some political means? Any ideas?