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Union Carriage & Wagon

Coordinates: 26°23′54″S 28°29′08″E / 26.398421°S 28.485672°E / -26.398421; 28.485672
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Union Carriage & Wagon
IndustryRolling stock manufacturing
Founded1957
FounderCommonwealth Engineering
Headquarters,
ParentCommuter Transport Engineering
Websitehttps://www.alstom.com/alstom-south-africa

Union Carriage & Wagon (UCW) is a rolling stock manufacturer in South Africa. It presently functions as one of the two South African subsidiaries of the French rolling stock manufacturer Alstom.

History

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South African Class 5E1, Series 2 locomotive

Union Carriage & Wagon was established in 1957. Initial shareholders were Commonwealth Engineering (51%), Budd Company (25%) and Leyland Motors (12%).[1] By 1965, Budd and Metro Cammell Weymann held a combined 41% shareholding which they sold to Anglo American plc and General Mining. In December 1969, Commonwealth Engineering reduced its shareholding to 42% with the other two shareholders each owning 29%.[2][3][4]

Having initially built carriages, in 1964, UCW delivered its first electrical locomotives to the South African Railways, the South African Class 5E1, Series 2.[5] The Class 5E1 was also the first electrical locomotive to be produced in quantity in South Africa.[6]

In 1974, UCW entered the international market with orders from Angola and Zambia.[7] In 1976, UCW received its first Asian order for twenty Type E100 electric locomotives for Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA), based on a GEC design. In addition, the TRA E1000 push-pull trainsets were also manufactured jointly by UCW, GEC-Alsthom, Tang Eng Iron Works of Taiwan and Hyundai Rotem of South Korea.[8] In 1993, UCW formed a joint venture with Siemens Mobility, SGP Verkehrstechnik and China Steel Corporation to manufacture 216 cars (36 6-car sets) of C321 metro cars for the Bannan Line of Taipei Metro, the first of which entered service in 1999.[9]

Rolling stock for Gautrain is assembled at the UCW plant in Nigel under a partnership agreement between Bombardier Transportation and UCW.[10][11][12]

In 1987, Commonwealth Engineering Parent company Australian National Industries sold its shareholding to Malbak Limited.[13] In October 1996, the business was sold to Murray & Roberts.[13][14] In February 2013, UCW was purchased by Commuter Transport Engineering.[15] In April 2016, Alstom acquired 51% shares and renamed the company Alstom Ubunye.[16]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Com-Eng to Build New Plant in South Africa Railway Transportation July 1958 page 26
  2. ^ Comeng Sells Interest in Sth African Subsidiary Railway Transportation December 1969 page 41
  3. ^ Dunn, John (2008). Comeng: A History of Commonwealth Engineering Volume 2 1955-1966. Dural: Rosenberg Publishing. pp. 188–209. ISBN 978-1877058424.
  4. ^ Dunn, John (2010). Comeng: A History of Commonwealth Engineering Volume 3 1966-1977. Dural: Rosenberg Publishing. pp. 92–106. ISBN 978-1877058738.
  5. ^ History Union Carriage & Wagon
  6. ^ South African Railways Index and Diagrams Electric and Diesel Locomotives, 610mm and 1065mm Gauges, Ref LXD 14/1/100/20, 28 January 1975, as amended
  7. ^ South African rail works is well experienced Rails September 1978 pages 4-6
  8. ^ 台灣鐵路火車百科:台鐵、高鐵、捷運(第三版),蘇照旭 著,人人出版2014年2月出版(ISBN 9789865903404
  9. ^ Yonkers Fighting To Save Rail-Car Jobs Archived 2020-02-16 at the Wayback Machine, The New York Times, Elsa Brenner, 25 July 1993
  10. ^ "assembly process at Union Carriage and Wagon Partnership". Gautrain. 16 October 2008. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
  11. ^ "Renewed hope for jobs in Nigel as Union Carriage and Wagon Partnership (UCWP) starts assembling Gautrain vehicles". 10 September 2008. Archived from the original on 28 March 2012. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
  12. ^ Radebe, Jeff (11 September 2009). "Address at the Union Carriage and Wagon Partnership's (UCWP's) 10M4 launch". Department of Transport. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
  13. ^ a b Dunn, John (2013). Comeng: A History of Commonwealth Engineering Volume 5 1985-2012. Dural: Rosenberg Publishing. pp. 13–15, 203–219. ISBN 9781922013521.
  14. ^ UCW Murray & Roberts
  15. ^ South Africa's CTE acquires Union Carriage & Wagon International Railway Journal 4 February 2013
  16. ^ "Alstom completes acquisition of CTLE shares, reinforcing its local presence in South Africa". Alstom. Retrieved 2024-06-17.
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26°23′54″S 28°29′08″E / 26.398421°S 28.485672°E / -26.398421; 28.485672