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ocomotive maker GE Transportation and state-owned railway operator PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to form a locomotive service alliance.

The MoU, signed in Washington D.C. in the US by GE Transportation president and CEO Lorenzo Simonelli and PT KAI president director Ignatius Jonan, creates a framework for the companies to create a locomotive service center for ASEAN, GE Transportation said in a media statement received by The Jakarta Post on Friday.

“GE will work with PT KAI to improve maintenance practices and specifically address improvement at the Yogyakarta service facility in order to provide the maximum availability of GE diesel-electric locomotives in PT KAI’s fleet,” the statement said. “GE will also provide expert training in the US and in Indonesia to PT KAI staff.”

PT KAI has engineering workshops in Yogyakarta as well as in Lahat, South Sumatra; Manggarai, South Jakarta; Surabaya, East Java; and Tegal, Central Java. The Yogyakarta workshop specializes in maintaining and repairing diesel locomotives, while the other workshops primarily focus on coaches and wagons.

Indonesia is working to improve its infrastructure, including its transportation system, under the Master Plan for the Acceleration and Expansion of Indonesian Economic Growth (MP3EI).

A number of projects scheduled for completion in the coming year, including the 844-kilometer double-track Trans-Java railway project connecting Jakarta and Surabaya.

“GE Transportation has had a long partnership with Indonesia. The MoU will provide reliable locomotive service to the country for decades,” Simonelli said as quoted in the statement. “We are looking forward to serving our customer, PT KAI, and contributing to Indonesia’s sustainable infrastructure growth for many years to come.”

GE will also establish a regional distribution network with a readily available inventory of spare parts for quick delivery to PT KAI service facilities. The locomotive maker will also establish a traction-motor remanufacturing center to serve ASEAN at the Yogyakarta workshop.

“GE will advise on the remanufacturing process, reflecting its lean manufacturing practices. GE will also recommend the machinery and tooling for remanufacturing traction motors to meet the highest industry standards,” the statement said.

GE will also provide expert training to assist PT KAI in traction motor remanufacturing. PT KAI will provide remanufacturing service for GE traction motors in ASEAN once it is certified as a GE remanufacturer of GE traction motors.

GE spokeswoman in Indonesia, Inggita Notosusanto told The Jakarta Post that the service center would start operation in late 2012 without providing the needed investment.

GE is virtually the largest supplier of locomotives to PT KAI, which said that there were approximately 250 locomotives made by GE in its fleet, including some that have been operating for more 34 years.

According to PT KAI website, it had 316 locomotives in its fleet in 2010.