Europe : The Vectron family from Siemens has reached 300 locomotives sold

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30/01/2016

Siemens announced a contract to supply Lokomotion GmbH with 8 Vectron multi-system electric locomotives. The private railway company Lokomotion GmbH will operate with this new fleet for his operations in Germany, Austria and Italy. In addition to the train protection systems required for these countries the locomotives are to be equipped with the European Train Control System (ETCS). Delivery of the vehicles is scheduled to start in spring 2017. They have a maximum power output of 6,400 KW and a top speed of 200 km/h. These locomotives are to be deployed in cross-border traffic between Germany and Italy by the Brenner Pass. They can run under AC voltage in Germany and Austria (15kV) and DC voltage in Italy (3kV DC). Some Vectron are already in use by different private railway companies in Italy. Therefore, Siemens was not in uncharted territory.

« With this order our Vectron platform has reached two significant milestones at the same time. Firstly, Lokomotion is the 20th customer who has decided in favor of our locomotive. And, secondly, this order also marks the 300th Vectron we have sold » says Jochen Eickholt, CEO of the Siemens Mobility Division.

It seems that Siemens goes back to the lead in sales of multisystems-locomotives, whereas until now, the TRAXX from Bombardier remains the most sold locomotive, with 2,000 unit across Europe. The TRAXX was the first multisystems-locomotive which ran both in Italy and in Austria (see this webpage). At present, the two german constructors are contesting the market : Vectron vs TRAXX AC3. You can see a promo video of the Vectron locomotive at this link.

See gallery of Vectron locomotives

(photo Siemens)