GERMANY: Infrastructure manager DB Netz has signed a seven-year framework agreement with Harsco Rail covering the supply of up 56 catenary maintenance vehicles worth €250m.
There is a firm order for an initial 16 to be delivered from 2022, and seven more are expected to follow two years later.
The ETCS-equipped electro-diesel Utility Track Vehicles will be able to travel at up to 140 km/h when taking power from the 15 kV 16·7 Hz overhead electrification, and will be able to operate in working mode for up to 2 h using battery power.
Harsco said DB Netz was looking to replace its aging fleet with ‘environmentally-friendly, state-of-the-art’ vehicles meeting modern requirements. They will incorporate technologies to reduce emissions and noise, and the air-conditioning units will be cooled using a natural refrigerant.
‘Harsco Rail has significantly invested in Europe to develop market-leading technologies with superior execution capability and to establish a robust supply chain to offer the most innovative Utility Track Vehicles in the market today’, said Harsco Rail President Jeswant Gill when the order was announced on September 16.
