The 6.4MW locomotives, which have a maximum speed of 200km/h, will be delivered later this year for operation in Germany, Austria, Hungary and Romania. Railpool already has 14 Vectron locomotives.

"The short-term availability of the Vectron locomotives enables us to respond flexibly to current customer demand," says Railpool's CEO Mr Torsten Lehnert.

Siemens says it is able to respond quickly to orders for Vectron locomotives as it maintains an inventory of underframes, driver cabs, locomotive bodies, frames and bogies in its factories. "The locomotive's machine room has fixed positions for all components and is individually fitted once the customer has placed an order," says Ms Sabrina Soussan, CEO of Siemens' high-speed, regional trains and locomotives business unit.