Power transmission specialist Voith and Lineas, the largest private rail freight operator in Europe, have signed a maintenance contract for the overhaul of a first batch of 30 type HLD 77 locomotives.

This covers a major overhaul with a ‘predefined basic scope’, as well as other options for variant-specific components and for the type L4r4 turbo transmissions.

The work, which will be carried out in the next four and a half years, is aimed at improving reliability, reducing costs and optimising down-time.

Vincent Delfosse, asset maintenance manager at Lineas, said: “This is the first step towards a long-term partnership between Voith and Lineas. With Voith, we have the support of a strong and reliable service partner with extensive experience in diesel locomotive technology that can provide us with qualitative maintenance services tailored to our needs.”

Lineas employs over 2,100 people; it owns a fleet of 250 locomotives and 7,000 wagons. The Voith Group is a global technology company with a broad portfolio of systems, products, services and digital applications.

Founded in 1867, Voith supplies the energy, oil and gas, paper, raw-material, transport and automotive sectors. It has more than 19,000 employees, sales of 4.3 billion euros and locations in over 60 countries world-wide, which makes it one of the larger family-owned companies in Europe.