17:42, 22 September 2026, Bishkek – 24.kg news agency
, by Turdubek AIGYROV
Kyrgyzstan has signed a contract with the American company Wabtec to purchase 10 TE33AS-series mainline freight locomotives. Delivery is expected by the end of 2027.The deal was announced following President Sadyr Japarov’s meeting with U.S. government and business representatives in New York on September 21.
The new locomotives will be added to the fleet of state-owned Kyrgyz Temir Zholu enterprise and will allow the company to modernize about 30 percent of its locomotive fleet.
Sadyr Japarov instructed officials to work on fully renewing the locomotive fleet over the next five years.
The president noted that construction of China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway is scheduled to be completed by 2030. The launch of the railway will increase freight volumes, creating a need for more modern locomotives.
U.S. Export-Import Bank Chairman John Jovanovic called the deal the first project of its kind in the history of cooperation with Kyrgyzstan. The sides expressed readiness to continue working together on transport infrastructure and investment.