In the current economic recession, purchasers might be inclined to place undue emphasis on price. A more realistic alternative is to invest in proven, long-life equipment – such as the MTU series 4000 R43 diesel engine, which offers the lowest life-cycle cost over a period of 20 to 30 years in powering railway vehicles.

Supplier of engines, complete propulsion and power systems in Southern Africa, MTU South Africa (Pty) Ltd recently showed its 16V 4000 R43 engine at the Railways and Harbours Conference and Exhibition 2009 in Cape Town. Confirming their commitment to supplying South African governmental and private rail operators, MTU displayed this ultimate 16-cylinder rail engine, weighing in at 8 tons. The entire engine family in configuration from eight cylinders up to 20-cylinder models feature outputs between 1,000 and 3,000kW.

The compact and powerful MTU series 4000 engines were the first to be fitted with the common-rail system in 1996. The most important advantages of this advanced fuel-injection system are optimised consumption figures and exhaust emissions. The new and updated series 4000 R43 engines comply with the emissions limits EU stage 3a, in force as of 2009, at the same time offering a better power-to-weight ratio and even lower fuel consumption figures.

MTU’s 4000 series engines come with a preventive maintenance concept and scheduled maintenance plan in order to keep life-cycle cost down and to ensure maximum reliability. Lowering down-times to a minimum, these high-performance machines become a reliable partner for the rail operator.

In respect of their performance and exhaust emissions, the series 4000 engines are the first in the world to have been awarded the International Union of Railways (UIC) certificates 623 and 624. The UIC inspection procedure, which includes an endurance run as well as tests to determine exhaust emissions, verified the engines’ mechanical quality and compliance with the stringent demands of Stage IIIA emissions standards.

MTU 4000 series are in service across the globe in a variety of trains and conditions, for example the 160 HST (High Speed Train) powercars in the United Kingdom, running between London and Scotland as well from London to Cornwall and Wales.

As the life-span of an MTU engine is 20 to 30 years, the initial procurement cost will account a mere 2% of the total cost of ownership. No less than 90% of total life-cycle cost is driven by fuel consumption and 8% accounts for maintenance. A reduction of 5% in fuel consumption could save a rail operator millions over time,.

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