Portren SA, a company owned by the Uruguayan logistics group Christophersen and the Spanish company Cointer Concesiones, has commissioned Stadler to supply seven EURO4001 diesel-electric locomotives, marking Stadler’s first contract in Uruguay.

Deliveries are expected to start by the end of 2022, and the locomotives will be designed and manufactured at Stadler’s plant in Valencia, Spain.

\The signing of this contract follows the announcement in mid-October that the Finnish bio-tech business UPM had selected the consortium comprising Cointer Concesiones (a subsidiary of local logistics group AZVI) and Christophersen, along with Deutsche Bahn International Operations, to operate and maintain freight trains between its new pulp mill at Paso de los Toros and the port of Montevideo.

The ‘new vehicles’ — comprising one locomotive and 26 wagons with a total length of about 475m — will make the 273km trips from the new factory to the port carrying wood pulp. On the way back, vehicles will transport the chemicals and fuel required to produce cellulose.

Specially adapted for freight service, EURO4001 locomotives boast high levels of performance and reliability. Fitted with a 2,800kW low-emission diesel engine, they meets EU emissions standard EC 26/2004 Stage V, while the latest bogie technology and efficient asynchronous traction motors help reduce wear and tear on the infrastructure, as well as cut noise pollution.

Stadler has its headquarters in Bussnang in eastern Switzerland. The company has a workforce of around 12,000 based in various production and engineering locations, as well as more than 40 service locations.

Its product range in the field of mainline railways and city transport includes high-speed trains, intercity trains, regional and suburban trains, metros, tramways and trams. Stadler also manufactures main-line locomotives, shunting locomotives and passenger carriages — and it is “the world’s leading manufacturer in the rack-and-pinion rail vehicle industry”.