POLAND: Leasing company Cargounit has taken delivery of the first three of five Siemens Mobility Vectron MS locomotives which are to be used by the Bahnoperator subsidiary of Beijing Trans Eurasia Logistics.
Bahnoperator is involved in the operation of up to 26 east and westbound trains between China and Europe per week, serving more than 24 destinations in Europe and 48 in China.
In 2019 Industrial Division subsidiary Cargounit signed a contract with Siemens Mobility for five multi-system Vectron locomotives and the provision of eight years of maintaince. The first three locos arrived in March, including one supplied ahead of schedule, and the remaining two are expected to arrive by the end of Q3.
Financing was provided by Siemens Financial Services, and the order also benefited from EU funding through the Centre for EU Transport Projects as part of a programme to develop intermodal traffic.
The locos are rated at 6·4 MW under AC electrification and 6·0 MW using DC, and are equipped with ETCS Baseline 3. They are intended for operation in Poland, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Slovenia, Croatia and Bulgaria.
Maintenance will be undertaken through the Railcover network of workshops. Bahnoperator CEO Marcel Stein said this would ‘guarantee safety and professional full service’ so the company ‘can focus 100% on our operational activities and further business development’.
Siemens has now supplied Vectrons to over 50 customers in 16 countries, with more than 50 delivered to Polish operators including Cargounit, DB Cargo Polska, PKP Cargo, Lotos Kolej and Laude Smart Intermodal.
Modernising and diversifying
Cargounit has a lease fleet of nearly 180 diesel and electric locomotives made up of main line and shunting types for domestic and international use, as well as some electric multiple-units.
The additional Vectrons were ordered as part of a strategy of modernising its portfolio and geographically diversifying the services offered, said President of the management board Łukasz Boroń on March 31.
The leasing company’s plans for the coming years assume there will be programmes to replace older locomotives at its current Polish customers, as well as new customers to be acquired through planned expansion in central and eastern Europe. ‘By 2025, Cargounit intends to expand its fleet by nearly 40 multi-system and single-system locomotives’, he said.
