CZ LOKO finished deliveries of the Class 743.2 locomotives for ČD

On 1 February 2024, ČD announced that it has already got back all 14 locomotives of the Class 742, which were redesignated  to the Class 743.2 after modernisation to the Type EffiShunter 1000M. The contract, signed on 7 February 2022, was finished almost a year earlier, as the last locomotive was originally expected to be completed in November 2024.

Jan Kutálek, member of the Board of Directors and Sales Director of CZ LOKO, says: "Accelerating the modernisation was practically the only way to keep the project's economics at least partially within realistic limits. Just shortly after the contract was signed, the war in Ukraine began on 24 February 2022 and supply chains broke down, prices of virtually all components became enormously more expensive and we were threatened with a catastrophic scenario. We avoided it - undoubtedly to the satisfaction of the customer, who can use the vehicles earlier.

We also had to manage a change of supplier for the ETCS OBU in record time after Alstom closed production of the Ebicab, which was originally supplied to our locomotives by Bombardier Transportation. We switched to CAF Signalling's Auriga product, so we had to do all the integration and testing from scratch, which is not easy. We are currently planning to switch the ETCS OBU to Switch-On mode, in which the vehicle is fully capable of operating under ETCS supervision on the domestic network."

The modernisation corresponds to the EffiShunter 1000M in the ČD Cargo second batch, i. e. starting with 742.768. In addition to ETCS, the machines for ČD are also equipped with the LS06 national ATP. At the customer's request, a 60 V power supply was installed to feed the batteries of the cars, to control their doors and to transmit signals to/from the cars, for which a socket is located on each locomotive front.

Basic remote control functions allow the driver to operate the interior lighting in the cars, entrance doors and emergency brake override. Due to these changes, the locomotives have received the new Class 743.2, which is shown on the vehicles, although administratively it is still the Class 742.71 (similarly for the 742.6 ZSSK CARGO machines). During the modernisation, the locomotives were fitted with a 1,000 kW CAT engine, new traction equipment and auxiliary drives or online monitoring and diagnostics, and the maximum speed was increased from 90 to 100 km/h.

Jiří Ješeta, Member of the Board of Directors and Deputy Director General of ČD for Passenger transport, adds: "The modernisation of the Class 742 locomotives to the Type EffiShunter 1000M is part of our Strategy 2030, in which we will renew a significant part of the fleet. We appreciate the fact that CZ LOKO managed the order in difficult external conditions at the original price and ahead of schedule. Unfortunately, such contract performance is quite rare among our suppliers."