AUSTRIAN Federal Railways has ordered a fleet of 230 km/h electric locomotives from Siemens, following a fiercely contested bidding race with Adtranz. According to Director-General Dipl-Ing Dr Helmut Draxler, final bids were received on July 24 and the ÖBB Board approved the deal on July 29.
The Sch3bn contract covers supply of 75 locomotives between January 2000 and the end of 2002. It includes options for delivery of up to 325 more, which will help standardise ÖBB’s electric loco fleet for the next 30 years. The 86 tonne Bo-Bos will have a continuous rating of 6400MW and a maximum tractive effort of 300 kN. As well as high-speed passenger service, they are intended to haul freight trains of up to 2000 tonnes at 120 km/h.
The so-called ’Europaloks’ will play a major role in ÖBB’s ’rail freight offensive’, which will make use of the European Union’s planned Trans-European Freight Freeways for open access operation. Equipped to run under 15 kV 16 2??3 Hz and 25 kV 50Hz catenary, the locos will be able to run through from France, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland to Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
As well as placing work with its Austrian subsidiaries in Wien and Graz, Siemens has agreed to subcontract the supply of components to various ÖBB workshops. Final assembly of the locos will take place at the ÖBB Technische Services centre in Linz. o
