CZECH Railways (ČD) subsidiary ČD Cargo has ordered a further 10 Siemens Vectron MS locomotives.
The Vectron type A54 locomotives can operate at up to 160 km/h and are able to operate under four types of electrification: 1.5kV dc, 3kV dc, 25kV 50Hz ac and 15kV 16.7Hz ac. The new locomotives will be authorised for operation in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium.
The locomotives will be equipped with ETCS Level 2 Baseline 3. Delivery will take place in the second half of 2024. The order is part of a framework contract for up to 50 locomotives.
ČD Cargo received its first Vectron in 2016, and is currently operating 12 with another two due to be delivered in 2023.
“We have long-term good experience with Siemens Vectron locomotives at the head of our trains,” says ČD Cargo chairman, Mr Tomáš Tóth. “Their purchase enabled us to fulfil one of the four strategic pillars of ČD Cargo, namely expansion abroad. We want to use the new locomotives for transport in other countries with interesting potential - in the Netherlands and Belgium.”
ČD Cargo has this year begun operating its locomotives to the port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands, where it is cooperating with local partners, and it plans to replicate this strategy in Belgium.
ČD Cargo recently became a certified operator on the Croatian railway network and gained its own access to ports on the Adriatic Sea.
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