The Department of Community, Culture and Leisure is confirming that it plans to seek Tynwald approval for the purchase of a diesel locomotive for the Isle of Man Railway at the July sitting.
The Minister for Community, Culture and Leisure, Hon Tim Crookall MHK, commented:
“I promised to review the original proposal to buy a new locomotive at a cost of about ?750,000. Whilst there was and indeed is a lot of merit in that proposal, it is hard to justify that amount in the current fiscal climate. We have managed since 1927 without a brand new locomotive so I asked my officers to consider alternatives. Of these, the cheapest option by far is to buy a Romanian design. By opting for a loco that is about 30 years old but fitted with a new drivetrain we can have a usable loco delivered here for a final figure that will I hope be half the original amount. I will be asking Tynwald for approval to spend ?350,000 of capital funds in addition to the ?50,000 already approved.
I have explained the key facts to Members of Tynwald already so that we can have an informed debate and now wish to do the same for the public. Using a 5% cost of capital, we calculate that the loco will pay for itself in 13 years. Annual savings will be almost ?40,000. With a minimum life of 20 years this proposal is one that makes good financial sense.”
If the purchase is approved by Tynwald the locomotive will be delivered within 18 months.
The key benefits of the proposed diesel locomotive are:
The diesel locomotive is required to allow the cost-efficient operation of the Isle of Man Steam Railway. Key functions include:
• attendance at lineside fires,
• the provision of a recovery service in event of the breakdown of an in-service steam locomotive,
• the provision of banking duties to allow the operation of heavily loaded services, and
• shunting duties.
In addition the locomotive will allow for the reduction in costs and the potential to increase income when compared to steam hauled services as follows:
• the supply of a works train that does not require a specialist crewing,
• the potential for commuter trains, which is not considered viable using a steam locomotive due to crew costs and early starts to bring a locomotive to working status,
• the provision of competitively priced hire services to the corporate market, and
• by eliminating the costs caused by the need to have a spare locomotive in steam.
The 2012/13 Capital Programme includes ?750,000 for the purchase of a locomotive; following on from a ?50,000 figure in the 2011/12 programme for design fees. Following concerns about the cost of a new locomotive and the associated long payback period, officers considered alternatives.
Whilst the original specification could and still can be justified in operational and engineering terms, the financial and political situation has led the Public Transport Division to review the specification and to eliminate certain items from the specification. This has enabled consideration of a fully refurbished Romanian built L45H locomotive of approximately 30 years of age. Prices have been obtained for the supply of one of these locomotives re-engineered in Romania with a modern drivetrain for supply within 18 months. The overall cost of this locomotive plus the cost of transferring some equipment within the original specification to a trailer unit will be below ?400,000.
The purchase of a refurbished locomotive reduces the capital cost to half the estimate of that for a new locomotive and provides a payback at 5% cost of capital of about 13 years with annual savings in the order of ?40,000.
The Minister concluded:
“The Department has been making operational compromises since the failure of the existing diesel and has been unable to recover passengers or fulfil the timetable when steam locos have failed in service. This is not an unusual occurrence as the locos in service were built between 1874 and 1910. These compromises are bad for customers and bad for business. The railway last bought a new locomotive in 1926; the diesel that we need to replace was built in 1958 and brought here in 1992. We have a long record of repairing what we already have but there comes a point when that is no longer sensible or even possible. By reducing the specification to the bare minimum and by identifying the option of a second-hand loco with a new engine and transmission we are confident that we have found a cost-effective way to meet our needs.”
