The authorisation means the locomotive is now approved for all countries for which it has been designed.
Czech Railways (ČD) has ordered 20 type 109Es (designated class 380 in the Czech Republic) for cross-border services in central Europe. The 200 km/h, 6400 kW locomotive is designed to operate under 3 kV dc, 15 kV ac and 25 kV ac electrification systems.
German Rail (DB) has also ordered six 109Es for Nuremberg – Ingolstadt – Munich regional express services, which will operate at up to 200km/h on the high-speed line.
Škoda Transportation has invested Koruna 950m ($US 37.8m) in the development and construction of the locomotive.
The locomotives are already approved for operation in the Czech Republic, Austria, Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia.
