Tristan le Masne, the Managing Director of Alstom, highlights the importance of understanding individual locomotives’ operating histories and conditions to ensure effective fleet maintenance. The rail OEM and lifecycle maintenance solutions provider is keen to explore opportunities across Africa.
By Jimmy Swira
For OEMs and providers of comprehensive lifecycle management solutions, there are potential opportunities in freight rail locomotive fleet refurbishment and maintenance across the African continent. But effective maintenance strategies require an understanding of the operating history and condition of individual assets.
Alstom‘s Managing Director, Trisrtan le Masne, emphasises this during an interview with Machinery Maintenance Matters on the eve of the 2026 Southern Africa Railway Association (SARA) Conference and Exhibition.
Operational history and performance profile
“Every locomotive develops its own operational history and performance profile. No two fleets operate under exactly the same conditions. Even within the same fleet, locomotives can experience different wear patterns. This depends, among other factors, on route conditions, train loads, operating practices and environmental factors,” clarifies le Masne.
Locomotive-specific issues
He says that the most effective way to identify locomotive-specific issues is through continuous monitoring of operational data, maintenance records, reliability trends and component performance. This enables maintenance teams to assess the actual condition of individual assets and identify where intervention is required.
“The capability to understand the actual condition of an asset is becoming important across Africa as operators seek to maximise the value of existing fleets. Rather than applying the same intervention to every locomotive, maintenance teams can direct resources where they are most needed. This approach improves reliability, avoids unnecessary interventions and helps increase fleet availability.”
Regularly reviewing the maintenance plan
This explains why a maintenance plan should be treated as a living strategy rather than a fixed document. It therefore needs to be reviewed regularly to remain relevant to the locomotive’s condition, operating environment and duty cycle.
As locomotives age and operating conditions evolve, maintenance requirements change, says le Masne. “Regular reviews should consider fleet reliability data, maintenance outcomes, operational feedback, asset-condition assessments and evolving business requirements.”
For African rail operators, this flexibility is vital because operating environments can vary significantly between regions, commodities and freight corridors, adds le Masne.
“In devising maintenance strategies, it is important to recognise from the outset how a locomotive fleet is used. For instance, a locomotive operating on a heavy-haul mining corridor will have very different maintenance requirements from one operating on mixed freight routes or cross-border services.
“That is why maintenance strategies that were effective several years ago may need to evolve as traffic volumes increase, operating patterns change or assets become older,” she explains, highlighting the role of digital asset monitoring and condition-based assessments in supporting maintenance planning.
Digital asset monitoring and condition-based assessments
Digital asset monitoring and condition-based assessments provide maintenance teams with information on asset health and performance. The resulting data helps operators make better-informed decisions about maintenance priorities, resource allocation and budgets.
Alstom Traxx™ 23E locomotive at the final assembly workshop in Durban, South Africa. A lifecycle maintenance plan is essential to maintaining fleet reliability and availability (Pic credits: Alstom)
Alstom’s Approach
The Alstom technical team has the engineering expertise, combined with years of experience working on freight rail locomotive maintenance and refurbishment projects across Africa, Middle East and Central Asia. With this know-how, it is able to adapt lifecycle maintenance services to the specific needs of fleet operators, taking into account the condition, operating environment and duty cycle of individual locomotives and fleets.
To develop maintenance strategies that meet the specific requirements of each fleet, le Masne says the Alstom team considers factors such as route characteristics, utilisation levels, fleet age, reliability performance, maintenance maturity and customer objectives. It then optimises inspection intervals, manages component obsolescence, plans modernisation activities and implements predictive maintenance solutions where appropriate.
The goal is to improve reliability, maximise availability and reduce the total cost of ownership throughout the asset lifecycle.
Opportunities for Lifecycle Maintenance Across Africa
In Africa, reliable freight rail is essential for moving minerals, agricultural products and manufactured goods efficiently. To meet customer needs, fleet operators need maintenance strategies that keep services running reliably.
Currently, there is a growing focus on increasing freight capacity, improving operational performance and extracting greater value from existing rail assets. Alstom sees particular opportunities in lifecycle maintenance services, fleet modernisation, technical support agreements, spare-parts management, digital asset monitoring, predictive maintenance and skills development programmes.
Alstom looks to add value beyond simply maintaining locomotives. The company is keen to establish long-term partnerships that allow operators to focus on their core transport mission while benefiting from the expertise of experienced rail-service providers. “Our long-term partnerships can help improve performance predictability and reduce lifecycle costs. Most importantly, they can build local maintenance capabilities through training and knowledge transfer,” says le Masne.
