10 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Class Afro4000 4007: Col André Kritzinger· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 2. Class Afro4000 4001: Col André Kritzinger· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 3. Class Afro4000 4010: Col André Kritzinger· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 4. Class Afro4000 4010 b: Col André Kritzinger· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 5. Class Afro4000 4011: Col André Kritzinger· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 6. Class Afro4000 4012: Col André Kritzinger· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 7. Class Afro4000 4012 BP: Col André Kritzinger· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 8. Class Afro4000 4003: User:John Middleton· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 9. Class Afro4000 4004: Col André Kritzinger· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 10. Class Afro4000 4010 a: Col André Kritzinger· CC BY-SA 3.0
what is it?
The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa Class Afro 4000 of 2014 is a South African diesel-electric locomotive. In late November 2014, the first of an intended twenty new Class Afro 4000 diesel-electric locomotives for the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) came ashore in Table Bay Harbour. The locomotive, the first new engine to be acquired by PRASA since its establishment, was officially unveiled at Cape Town Station on 1 December 2014.
who runs it
base stats
Bars compare against all trains: 600 km/h (maglev), 1,700 seats; power, weight and number built on a log scale up to 20 MW, 1,000 t and 20,000 built.
fun facts
- First built 12 years ago, in 2014.
- 3.2 MW is about 37 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
- Weighs about as much as 21 African elephants (~6 t each).
diesel locomotive: A diesel engine on board drives the wheels, usually through a generator (diesel-electric).
spec sheet
- built
- 2014–2015
- in service from
- 2014
- number built
- 20
- kind
- Diesel-electric
- traction
- diesel
- origin
- 🇪🇸 Spain
- builders
- Vossloh
- designer
- Vossloh España
- operators
- Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa
- top speed
- 130 km/h
- power
- 3.2 MW
- gauge
- 1,067 mm Cape gauge
- wheel arrangement
- Co'Co'
- weight
- 123 t
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q20648569, Wikipedia: South African Class Afro 4000 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.