Locomotive leasing company NEXRAIL has signed an agreement with Vossloh Rolling Stock for the delivery of 20 DE18 Stage V Smart Hybrid locomotives. The NEXRAIL DE18 fleet will grow to 50 locomotives.
The 20 new locomotives will get an upgraded homologation, which includes ETCS Level 2 Baseline 3.6 and Germany (PZB). The locomotive already has existing approvals for France, Belgium, and Luxembourg. Vossloh should deliver the ordered rolling stock by 2027.
The Vossloh DE18 Smart Hybrid locomotive is a universal, 4-axle mid-cab locomotive with a powerful (1,800kW) and fuel-efficient diesel engine with reduced ecological footprint (Stage V emission standards) as well as an additional traction battery, explains NEXRAIL. It can be used for both shunting and regional mainline services. The DE18 locomotive is also designed for track construction and rescue operations.
The upgraded traction battery enables more than an hour of emission-free, low-speed operation. It also serves as an extended start-stop system, says NEXRAIL, which can lead to fuel savings of 15-40% depending on the use case.
NEXRAIL also points out that the ETCS Level 2 Baseline 3.6 upgrade is important to Belgian operators. Belgium will switch to ETCS-only operations towards the end of 2027.
’’We are pleased that we can continue to service our clients in Western Europe, and now also in Germany, with new-build, low-emission hybrid locomotives. The investments in infrastructure, especially in Germany, require modern rolling stock”, commented Luuk von Meijenfeldt, CEO of Nexrail.
In November, NEXRAIL announced the acquisition of EURO9000b locomotives from Stadler. The leasing company celebrated those locomotives as the first of its kind that can drive from terminal to terminal completely free of emissions.