INKA Exports 133 Carriage Units To New Zealand

Photo: Doc. Antara

JAKARTA - INKA Group as an integrated state-owned railway and land transportation company in Indonesia exported 133 units of "container flat top (CFT) wagon" type wagons to KiwiRail, New Zealand.

Main Director of PT INKA (Persero) Eko Purwanto said that the goods carriages being exported this time were "Batch-1" from the 262 carriage unit project acquired.

"The 133 units of freight cars are part of the 262 carriage unit project which was acquired from an Australian company, namely UGL, in January 2021. Two prototype units of this project were delivered in mid-2022 and have completed the dynamic test phase by UGL and KiwiRail," said Eko Purwanto in Madiun, East Java, quoted from Antara, Thursday 23 February.

According to Eko, the INKA Group also obtained a contract from UGL for the procurement of 450 wagons in September 2022 and a contract for 50 "platform/underframe" locomotives in November 2021.

"We are of course proud of the relationship with UGL which proves INKA's ability to compete on a global stage and hope that this collaboration can be sustainable given that there is still an open need for facilities there," said Eko.

Director of KiwiRail's Rollingstock Procurement Program, Chrissy Farago, said that the new carriages will replace the old freight cars as a form of an operational modernization program for the KiwiRail fleet.

"When the testing is complete, these new coaches will be immediately deployed and used for timber transportation as one of KiwiRail's services to the forestry industry in New Zealand," said Chrissy Farago.

The general specifications of the carriages are divided into three types, namely sizes 40 ft, 50 ft, and 60 ft designed by UGL in Newcastle Australia with an empty weight of around 15.2-17.1 tons with a maximum carrying capacity of 62.9 tons.

Meanwhile, KiwiRail is a state-owned company in New Zealand that operates as a rail transportation operator. Kiwi Rail is also New Zealand's largest inter-island ferry operator.

By supplying 262 freight cars to New Zealand, it is hoped that this will be a big step for INKA Group to take up its role again in the Oceania rail market.