Donetsk, Dec 7 - DAN. Russia has supplied a batch of VL10 locomotives to the Donetsk People’s Republic as part of technical assistance, the Donbass Railways cross border consortium told the Donetsk News Agency on Tuesday.
“Russia has supplied four VL-10 electric locomotives to the DPR for the first time,” a consortium representative said. “The Republic has not operated this type of equipment before.”
Donetsk Railways which is part of the cross border consortium said that the DPR has been using VL8 direct current locomotives which were most effective in terms of design parameters and reliability as of the manufacturing date. However, these locomotives have exhausted their lifespan by now. The Russian-made passenger and cargo locomotives are equipped with more powerful engine and show better running performance.
They will be used in meeting the increasing needs of metallurgical and coal companies and other industrial enterprises for cargo transportation.
Donbass Railways said that it would continue to renew the fleet of the locomotives of Donetsk Railways and Lugansk Railways in 2022. A well-informed source told DAN that Russia might supply more locomotives to Donbass.
VL-10 is a Soviet mainline cargo and passenger direct current locomotive manufactured in Tbilisi and Novocherkassk from 1961 to 1977. It partially uses VL8 electric equipment while its underframe and body are standardized with VL80. It was the mainline cargo locomotive on USSR railways starting the mid-1960s and the most mass produced direct current locomotive model of the period.*jk