CZECH REPUBLIC: National operator ČD has awarded Siemens Mobility a contract to supply 50 Vectron MS multi-system electric locomotives suitable for hauling international passenger trains at up to 230 km/h.
The locomotives are to be produced at Siemens Mobility’s München-Allach factory for delivery from December 2025. They will be fitted with Trainguard 100/200/300 onboard ETCS, and equipped for operation in the Czech Republic, Germany, Austria, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary.
ČD plans to deploy the locomotives on the Praha – Hamburg, Praha – Wien – Graz and Praha – Budapest routes, operating with its 20 ComfortJet push-pull trainsets to be supplied by a consortium of Siemens Mobility and Škoda Transportation as well as with its Railjet-branded sets.
The order announced on March 31 includes 15 years of maintenance. Siemens Mobility CEO Michael Peter said it was the biggest Czech order for Vectron locomotives to date, and they would be the first to be suitable for 230 km/h operation on high speed lines. ČD will be ‘ideally equipped for providing flexible, sustainable and cross-border rail transport’, he said.
ČD Vice-Chairman Michal Kraus said the operator had had a ‘very good experience’ with its current fleet of 18 Vectrons, and others are operated by its ČD Cargo subsidiary.
Siemens Mobility has now sold 1 327 Vectron locomotives to 61 customers, with approval for operation in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey.
