GE Transportation Announces New High-Speed Engine Program

BERLIN, Sept. 19, 2018 – GE Transportation (NYSE:GE) announced today at InnoTrans 2018 a new high-speed diesel engine program, which will serve the locomotive, marine and power generation segments. The engine platform will provide improved fuel efficiency and reliability, as well as lower lifecycle costs.

“This new, high-speed engine will be a game changer for our customers,” said Dominique Malenfant, Vice President of Global Technology for GE Transportation. “They will enjoy reduced operating costs and increased availability with this engine.  It will generate annual savings for customers of up to $12,000 in diesel and $4,000 in services.”

Compared to similarly sized locomotive engines, GE Transportation’s high-speed engine will offer a 5 percent better total cost of ownership. It will be 5 percent more fuel efficient, saving customers more than 6,000 gallons of diesel per year. The engine also will reduce maintenance costs by 10 percent and provide 184-day service intervals. Overhauls will be on 10-year intervals.

“We are leveraging our expertise and technology in the medium-speed engine segment to create a smaller, power-dense engine platform for products such as shunters and light-weight locomotives,” said Malenfant. “This new program will open up new segments for our business.”

The combination of a powerful engine at a smaller size and weight makes the platform ideal in regions like Asia, Africa, South America, Australia and New Zealand, which require lighter locomotives. Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ) will be the first to use the new engine to power the 300 shunter locomotives ordered earlier this year. GE Transportation will deliver the first shunter to KTZ in 2019.

“GE technology is the primary driver for developing Kazakhstan’s rail industry,” said Kanat Alpysbayev, Chairman of KTZ. “The high-speed engine will provide our new shunter fleet with the performance and maintainability needed to conduct our operations in a cost-effective manner.”

GE Transportation is developing the platform for application in multiple segments. The company is designing the high-speed diesel engine in 12- and 16-cylinder configurations with a maximum-rated horsepower of 2,500 and 3,300 respectively. At 7.40 lbs per horsepower, the design will be 40 percent more powerful per pound compared to a medium-speed engine. It also will be digitally ready with remote prognostic capabilities to improve performance and reliability. Additionally, the engine design will meet the emission standards for both the European Union’s Stage III A/B and the International Union of Railways’ UIC Stage I/II.

The core architecture of the engine platform was jointly developed with GE Distributed Power, incorporating decades of high-speed engine experience across the Jenbacher and Waukesha product lines.  GE Distributed Power is targeting a serialization of the technology to introduce a range of stationary gas engine operating potentially as soon as 2020.

Visit the GE Transportation InnoTrans 2018 webpage to learn more about this week’s announcements, demos and displays.  The GE Transportation booth is located at Hall 3.2, Stand 401.

About GE Transportation

At GE Transportation, we move the world and improve the world. We are a global technology leader and supplier of equipment, services and digital solutions to the rail, mining, marine, stationary power and drilling industries. Our innovations help customers deliver goods and services with greater speed and savings using our advanced manufacturing techniques and connected machines. GE Transportation is headquartered in Chicago, IL, and employs approximately 9,000 employees worldwide.