The GE U20C

diesel-electric locomotive A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover (locomotive), prime mover is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conv ...

was introduced by

GE Transportation Systems GE Transportation is a Division (business), division of Wabtec. It was known as GE Rail and owned by General Electric until sold to Wabtec on February 25, 2019. The organization manufactures equipment for the Rail transport, railroad, marine, mi ...

as an export model in 1964. It was powered by the 8-cylinder 7FDL-8 engine. This locomotive is used worldwide with many variations and modifications. Different engines may be used, e.g. 7FDL8 and 7FDL12. Like the other members of the Universal series, it can be built to suit all

track gauge In rail transport, track gauge (in American English, alternatively track gage) is the distance between the two rails of a railway track. All vehicles on a rail network must have wheelsets that are compatible with the track gauge. Since many d ...

Indonesian U20C

A unique modification is the wide cab version of the U20C used on the gauge Indonesian railroad and operated by

PT Kereta Api Indonesia PT Kereta Api Indonesia (Persero) (English: Indonesian Railways Company, abbreviated as PT KAI or simply KAI) is the sole operator of public railways in Indonesia. It is completely state-owned and pays track access charges to the government. ...

(Indonesian National Railway Company). Unlike other models of the U20C, with short hood cabin, the Indonesian U20C features a full-width cabin, for comfort and better sight of track and signals. It is classified as CC203 by

. The wide cab was built by Goninan Locomotive Work (now

UGL Rail UGL Rail is an Australian rail company specialising in building, maintaining and refurbishing diesel locomotives, diesel and electric multiple units and freight wagons. It is a subsidiary of UGL Limited and is based in Melbourne, with a staff of ...

) in Australia.

Construction

Between 1995 and 2000, 41 units of this locomotive type were delivered to the

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. Which was numbered as CC203 01-41. The first batch is number 01-12 which were imported from GE Transportation in

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 a ...

, United States. And numbers 13-41 were built locally by PT GE Lokomotif Indonesia, a joint company between PT Industri Kereta Api Indonesia / Indonesian Railway Industry (PT INKA) and GE Transportation. The CC 203 was designed between Goninan, Australia and GE, USA. In which Goninan constructed the wide cabin and GE constructed the engine and the body.

Operations

37 locomotives in Java are still in operation, and were allocated for pulling express passenger trains, but in special conditions they pull 3rd class and sometimes freight trains as well. Initially, CC 203 trains used a livery featuring two blue stripes of different shades (the lighter blue stripe above the darker blue stripe) and with the Indonesian

Ministry of Transportation A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government ag ...

logo in the hood and the former Indonesian Railway Public Corporation (''Perumka'') logo (inherited by its successor

Kereta Api Indonesia PT Kereta Api Indonesia (Persero) (English: Indonesian Railways Company, abbreviated as PT KAI or simply KAI) is the sole operator of public railways in Indonesia. It is completely state-owned and pays track access charges to the government. ...

(KAI) until 2011). Since Kereta Api Indonesia's 2011 rebranding, CC 203s were then repainted with KAI's current locomotive liveries. This livery didn't change during the 2020 KAI rebranding.

Operational history

Class CC 203s were built to commemorate 50 years of

Proclamation of Indonesian Independence The Proclamation of Indonesian Independence ( id, Proklamasi Kemerdekaan Indonesia, or simply ''Proklamasi'') was read at 10:00 on Friday, 17 August 1945 in Jakarta. The declaration marked the start of the diplomatic and armed resistance of th ...

in 1995 and was initially built to haul Perumka's then-new ''Argo'' trains: the '' JS950 Argobromo'' and the '' JB250 Argogede''; Perumka would then launch several other ''Argo'' trains. After the railway (now reincorprated as a limited company) acquired newer locomotives like the CC 204 ( GE C20EMP) and CC 206, CC 203s were no longer the main locomotive of Argo trains. CC 203 now haul most trains in Java - mostly mixed-class, business (about to be phased out), and economy passenger trains, as well as freight trains occasionally. Also, a pair of CC 203 class from Jatinegara

motive power depot The motive power depot (MPD) or locomotive depot, or traction maintenance depot (TMD), is the place where locomotives are usually housed, repaired and maintained when not being used. They were originally known as "running sheds", "engine shed ...

also used as a locomotive for special Presidential Trains before being replaced by CC 206s, also operated in double traction for safety and other reasons. While in Sumatra, 4 units of CC 203 class (CC 203 31-34 in old numbering system or CC 203 01 01-04 in the new system) were used in double traction mode to haul pulp train for a company named PT Tanjung Enim Lestari Pulp and Paper until 2016. These particular CC 203s were allocated at Tanjung Karang

depot Depot ( or ) may refer to: Places * Depot, Poland, a village * Depot Island, Kemp Land, Antarctica * Depot Island, Victoria Land, Antarctica * Depot Island Formation, Greenland Brands and enterprises * Maxwell Street Depot, a restaurant in ...

, Lampung. Since 2019, all of CC 203 locomotives in Sumatra were inoperative and retired.

C20EMP

In 2006, GE Locomotives

introduced a brand new locomotive with full computer controls. It was given the model name as C20EMP and still used the 7FDL-8 engine. The overall shape is similar to other

n CC 203s, but the C20EMP has a Brightstar Sirius on-board computer to control the propulsion and transmission, for also better fuel economy and lifetime. The power rating is 2150 HP but the power output is 1950 HP. Because the results were very good,

, made a contract with PT Industri Kereta Api Indonesia (PT INKA) to build 20 more locomotives. Then, the brand-new C20EMP was delivered from GE and was assembled at PT Industri Kereta Api Indonesia (PT INKA). These C20EMPs were numbered as CC 204 08-11 and then would be renumbered as CC 204 12-17. However, to comply with the most recent regulation, the numbering were changed into CC204 06 01 - 02, CC204 07 01 - 02, CC204 08 01 - 02 and CC204 09 01 - 04. CC204 08-09 were delivered in 2006, CC204 10-11 was delivered in 2007. A total of 30 locomotives were manufactured before production ended in 2011. While in Java, C20EMPs (CC 204) were mostly pulling Argo class trains and other executive class trains alongside the CC 203. All the CC204s previously used for hauling coal trains in South Sumatra now replaced by CC206 ( CM20EMP) from Java. Currently CC204 are used for hauling passenger trains, short coal trains, and another light freight train such as fuel, pulp and cement trains. CC 204 locomotives still used a livery featuring two blue stripes of different shades (the lighter blue stripe above the darker blue stripe) and without the Indonesian

logo in the short hood and the former Indonesian Railway Public Corporation (''Perumka'') logo (inherited by its successor

(KAI) until 2011). This livery didn't change during the 2011 and 2020 KAI rebranding.

Export version

In the year 2000, PT Industri Kereta Api Indonesia (PT INKA) made the last CC 203 for

Philippine The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

s Port Railways. It had the same specifications as an average

n CC 203. But after 7 years of revenue service, the container rail service was closed down. The locomotive was refurbished and was shipped to Australia for the Coote Industrial Company. After strip down inspections and maintenance, the locomotive was put back on revenue service. Around 2015, this locomotive (numbered U201) was acquired by

Transperth Train Operations Transperth Train Operations is a division of the Public Transport Authority of Western Australia. It is responsible for operating Perth’s urban passenger rail system, as part of the Transperth network. Perth's passenger rail network covers ...

- the commuter rail operator in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, Western Australia - whose fleet otherwise consists solely of

electric multiple unit An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a numbe ...

s. U201 replaced Transperth's earlier diesel shunter, a Westrail MA-class locomotive, which was in turn acquired by

Hotham Valley Railway The Hotham Valley Tourist Railway (commonly Hotham Valley Railway) is a tourist and heritage railway in the Peel region of Western Australia. The railway operates over a 32 kilometre section of the original Pinjarra to Narrogin railway line ...

, a tourist

heritage railway A heritage railway or heritage railroad (US usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) i ...

operating south of Perth. U201 is now based at Transperth's Claisebrook depot.

Brazil

Unlike the Indonesian U20C model, the Brazil model retains the usual GE front cab design, as seen in the U14C and U15C locomotives. Specifications are nearly the same to the Indonesian U20C locomotive.

Gallery

File:GE U20C 2625 NOVOESTE.jpg, GE U20C in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, NOVOESTE #2625 File:GE U20C 3860 FEPASA.jpg, GE U20C in

, FEPASA #3860 File:Diesel locomotive.JPG, GE U20C ''Wide Cab'' in

, CC203 98 10 File:SAR Class 33-000 33-009.JPG, GE U20C,

South African Class 33-000 The South African Railways Class 33-000 of 1965 was a diesel-electric locomotive. In 1965 and 1966, the South African Railways placed sixty-five General Electric type U20C diesel-electric locomotives in service.South African Railways Index and ...

no 33-009 File:CC 203 18 At JNG Motive Power Depot.jpg, CC 203 98 06 File:SQM GE U20C Barriles.jpg, GE U20C of SQM in Barriles, Chile