Locomotive order from Italy: Eurosprinter ES64U4 for Ferrovie Udine Cividale

The Siemens Mobility Division has penetrated the Italian locomotive market by winning an order to supply two type ES64U4 electric locomotives to the Italian railroad company Ferrovie Udine Cividale (FUC).

The Eurosprinter reached a maximum speed of 235 kilometers per hour on the route between Psary and Góra Wlodowska (in Poland).

These multi-system locomotives are intended for hauling freight traffic in Italy, but will also be able to run across the border into Germany, Austria and Slovenia. The locomotives belong to the proven Siemens Mobility Eurosprinter family. To date more than 1,500 of these locomotives have been ordered worldwide.

The two locomotives have certifications to operate as public transport vehicles in Germany, Italy, Austria and Slovenia. The vehicles will be manufactured in the Siemens works in Munich and Linz, and delivered in January and April 2011 respectively.

The ES64U4 has a maximum power of 6400 kilowatts, and an authorized maximum speed of 160 kilometers per hour for freight traffic in Italy. The vehicle has four axles, weighs 87 tonnes and runs on a 1,435 millimeter track gauge. The Eurosprinter is a non-polluting locomotive that already meets future sound emission and fire protection standards. With a power that enables maximum speeds of up to 230 kilometers per hour, the Eurosprinter is equally as suitable for hauling cross-border main-line trains as it is for goods trains.

This locomotive type has been in successful use in Austria, Slovenia and Poland since 2006. Coupled to Polish Railways (PKP Intercity) passenger cars, the locomotives will enable IC/EC services to run on the Warsaw – Berlin route and, in future, from Warsaw to Prague and Vienna. The Siemens locomotive has so far achieved two superlative speeds on trial runs: On September 2, 2006 it ran at a world record of 357 km/h on the Nuremberg – Ingolstadt route, and on May 29, 2009, on the Psary – Góra Wlodowska route section, the Eurosprinter reached 235 km/h, a record for a locomotive-hauled train on the Polish rail network.