by Allen Hazen
The New York Times for 20.vii.2013 has a story about shipping computers (Hewlett Packard is behind the operation) from China to Europe by rail-- it's more expensive but significantly faster (and, after all, inventory in transit is a cost too!) than sea, and much, much, cheaper than airfreight.
Item: there are two breaks of gauge (China and western Europe have standard gauge rail systems, the ex-Soviet parts of the route have 5 foot gauge). Apparently the special running gear with wheels that can slide in and out on the axles isn't used: containers are shifted from one train to another by cranes.
There is about one paragraph about the locomotive, which is one of the GE units (is the moel ES44ACi ?) built in Kazakhstan. It is said that the "body, generators, radiators and wheels" are built in Astana (Kazakhstan), but the engines are imported from GE in Erie, PA. (The GE-Kazakh joint venture, however, is said to be planning a diesel engine factory in Kazakhstan.)
Article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/21/busin ... &ref=world" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Item: there are two breaks of gauge (China and western Europe have standard gauge rail systems, the ex-Soviet parts of the route have 5 foot gauge). Apparently the special running gear with wheels that can slide in and out on the axles isn't used: containers are shifted from one train to another by cranes.
There is about one paragraph about the locomotive, which is one of the GE units (is the moel ES44ACi ?) built in Kazakhstan. It is said that the "body, generators, radiators and wheels" are built in Astana (Kazakhstan), but the engines are imported from GE in Erie, PA. (The GE-Kazakh joint venture, however, is said to be planning a diesel engine factory in Kazakhstan.)
Article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/21/busin ... &ref=world" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
