Slovak national freight operator ZSSK Cargo is procuring 15 Siemens Vectron MS locomotives, with the option of leasing 15 more in the future. The company needs the rolling stock to participate in the expanding cross-border traffic. Without proper measures, the company risks becoming uncompetitive and being left out.
ZSSK Cargo wants to lease 15 Siemens Vectron electric multi-system locomotives for a ten-year period. The Slovak freight operator keeps the option for another 15 units open, and wants to be able to buy the locomotives once the lease ends.
The tender ends on 22 September, and ZSSK Cargo wants the first locomotives in its arsenal by March 2026, according to the Slovak publication Railpage.net. The company currently operates a fleet of 430 locomotives.
A slice of the cross-border pie
ZSSK Cargo explains that its search for new multi-system locomotives is “a direct response to current challenges and trends in the European rail transport market.” For one, the company hopes to keep up with other state-owned operators in cross-border rail freight.
With international transit traffic becoming the norm in the EU, those multi-system locomotives are key, the company says. The EU’s rail liberalisation and interoperability rules are making border transshipments and locomotive changes less common.
The result is that rolling stock needs to be operational in more than one country to participate in the growing cross-border traffic. ZSSK Cargo says that it does not currently have enough locomotives for that business. “Without modernisation, we would risk losing our business to other carriers who are prepared for cross-border transport.”
Preparations in time
There seems to be a sense of urgency at the company. Slovak rail freight is growing, but not necessarily on the local level, explains the freight operator. “We expect growth in freight transport volumes primarily in the area of cross-border transport. Growth will not be automatic for everyone, but those carriers who prepare for it in time will benefit from it.”
As of September 2025, ZSSK Cargo sees itself as less competitive than other state-owned carriers in neighbouring countries. “We need to address the renewal of our electric locomotive fleet, as we are currently the only company that has not yet begun the process of modernisation with multi-system locomotives”, the company says. It will only be able to profit from new international freight flows with suitable rolling stock.
Austrian opportunity
An example of a new international rail freight opportunity is the completion of the electrification of the Devínska Nová Ves – Marchegg railway. It will open the door to cross-border services to Austria, but without multi-system locomotives, ZSSK Cargo would not be able to jump on that opportunity.
“Our conclusion is clear: growth in freight transport volume in Slovakia will depend directly on carriers’ ability to handle this growth. Therefore, our investment in new locomotives is not only a sign of expected growth; it is also a necessary prerequisite for us to participate in this growth and avoid becoming only spectators in our own country while foreign carriers dominate the international market”, the operator says.