Railway goes green: Wabtec invests $200 million in eco-friendly locomotive production in Astana

American Wabtec, controlling a locomotive assembly plant in Astana, plans to invest $200 million over 10 years, starting in 2027, in the production of models powered by alternative fuels, the cabinet’s press office reported.

In June, the company established a new engineering facility where eco-friendly locomotives powered by alternative fuels are currently being designed.

Wabtec owns the Lokomotiv Kurastyru Zauyty manufacturing plant in Astana. The factory produces freight, passenger and shunting locomotives for both domestic and foreign markets, such as Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia. The enterprise employs 800 people and grants the opportunity to get training in the U.S. for its personnel.

«These projects will empower Kazakhstan to become a hub for locomotive production and modernization while being incorporated into a global supply chain,» noted Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov during a meeting with Wabtec CEO Rafael Santana.

The prime minister also held meetings with Andrew DeLeone, regional president of the French Alstom for Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia.

Alstom is currently building four service centers for electric locomotives worth €50 million. The first facility is planned for launch in early 2025 in the town of Shu in the Zhambyl region, with 450 new jobs created.

Over the past 10 years, Alstom has invested roughly €120 million in Kazakhstan’s railroad industry. The enterprise has established seven production facilities, including the Electric Locomotive Kurastyru Zauyty (Electric Locomotive Plant) in Astana, where passenger and heavy-load electric locomotives are produced. The enterprise represents 30% of the total production capacity in Kazakhstan’s railway industry. More than 1,000 workers are engaged in the company’s projects. 

In July, Kazakhstan Railway (KTZ) signed a memorandum of understanding with Wabtec, an American company, to supply KTZ with new and upgraded locomotives powered by compressed natural gas (CNG) instead of diesel. This shift to CNG is expected to reduce operating costs and speed up cargo shipping across Kazakhstan. The natural gas for these locomotives will be provided by Condor, a Canadian company currently constructing an autogas production plant near Aktobe, scheduled to begin operations in mid-2026. 

In late October, Wabtec entered into an agreement with KTZ on shipping locomotives worth $405 million. However, the delivery terms and the number of engines haven’t been specified.

Wabtec acquired a 50% stake in Lokomotiv Kurastyru Zauyty in 2019, with the remaining stock controlled by Russian Transmashholding, which was hit with U.S. sanctions in September 2023. At the end of 2023, the American enterprise bought out those shares from the Russian company and has been the plant’s sole owner since then.