New Zealand DL class locomotive

New Zealand DL class

DL 9020 on a freight train near Papakura, Auckland.

Type and origin Power type Diesel Builder Dalian Locomotive and Rolling Stock (CNR Group) Order number 48 Model CKD-9B Build date first 20 : 2009–2011 second 20 : 2011–2013 third 8: 2014

Specifications UIC class Co-Co Gauge 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) Length 18.5 metres (60 ft 8 in) over drawgear 18.12 metres (59 ft 5 in) over body Axle load 18 tonnes (18 long tons; 20 short tons) Loco weight 108 tonnes (106 long tons; 119 short tons) Prime mover MTU 20V 4000R43‡ Alternator Yongji Electric Machine Factory JF205 Series Traction motors Yongji Electric Machine Factory ZD126C Loco brake Wabtec 26L Pneumatic Air Brake

Performance figures Power output Engine 2,700 kilowatts (3,600 hp)‡

Career Class DL Number in class 48 Delivered November 2010 (1st batch – 6 units) June 2011 (1st batch – 14 units) June 2013 (2nd batch - 10 units) August 2013 (2nd batch - 10 units) April 2015 (3rd batch - 8 units) First run November 2010 Current owner KiwiRail

Sources: ‡, †,others

The New Zealand DL class of diesel-electric locomotives was manufactured for KiwiRail by Dalian Locomotive and Rolling Stock Company with engines from MTU. They are the most powerful diesel-electric locomotives in service in New Zealand.

Twenty locomotives were ordered in 2009 and delivered in 2010-2011, a further 20 in 2011 for 2012 delivery, postponed to 2013 due to reliability problems. Another batch of eight were ordered in September 2013. The third batch arrived in 2015.

They were the first new-build diesel-electric mainline locomotives on the New Zealand railway network in 30 years, The order marked one of the first steps of considerable investment in KiwiRail, and the first order for a Chinese-built locomotive from a western country.

The acquisition of new locomotives was first proposed by Toll NZ after they purchased Tranz Rail in 2003. When Toll assumed responsibility for the rail operation, the New Zealand Railways Corporation again took over the maintenance of the railway network under the trading name ONTRACK. After several years of negotiations the two parties could not come to an agreement on the amount that Toll should pay for access to the rail network (track access fees), and Toll did not purchase any new locomotives while this issue remained unsolved. In July 2008, the fifth Labour Government purchased Toll Rail from Toll, renamed it KiwiRail, and merged it with ONTRACK, creating one company that controls both operations and rail infrastructure. Soon after the new company was officially launched, the State Owned Enterprises Minister Trevor Mallard announced that the government was investigating the possibility of assembling new locomotives at Hutt Workshops, then operated by United Group Rail, from imported parts.

Following the election of the fifth National government in November 2008, the investment programme initiated by the previous administration was suspended pending a review. In March 2009, the government announced that it had authorised KiwiRail to invest $115m in new rolling stock: $75m for 20 locomotives, and $40m for new carriages for Tranz Scenic, (now KiwiRail Scenic Journeys). The locomotives were to be built in China by Dalian Locomotive and Rolling Stock (CNR Group).