The Euro9000 locomotive, manufactured by Stadler, has operated its first commercial runs in Italy. A unit owned by leasing company European Loc Pool (ELP) was involved in the inaugural journey from Verona to the Brenner Pass. ELP explained the significance of the Euro9000’s entry into Italy to RailFreight.com.
The Euro9000’s first Italian trip departed from the Quadrante Europa logistics hub in Verona, northern Italy, towards Austria via the Brenner Pass. The operation served to test the locomotive’s performance on the steep Alpine inclines, writes Italian publication Ferrovie.it.
This is exactly where the Euro9000 is supposed to excel. It is one of the most powerful freight locomotives available in Europe at the moment. Fortunately for the Euro9000 and its owners, the run has met expectations. “The results are promising”, commented European Loc Pool on LinkedIn.
ELP explains to RailFreight.com that the Euro9000 is necessary for freight trains weighing over 1,700 tonnes to climb the south ramp of the Brenner Pass between Verona and Franzensfeste (Fortezza). Even when the Brenner Base Tunnel is completed and in operation, there will still be a 12‰ gradient (a climb of 12 metres per kilometre) on the route. On the current 22.5‰ incline, the Euro9000 can pull 1,450 tonnes.
The locomotive’s six axles, according to ELP, also offer a “more economic option” compared to using two locomotives with four powered axles across two bogies (‘Bo-Bo’) on the steep inclines in the area.
Power network
Still, the landscape is not the only obstacle to freight operations. The Italian traction infrastructure also creates constraints. Italy operates on a 3kV DC power network, which provides less electric power compared to AC systems. “On demanding routes, on gradients and with heavy freight trains, this can directly affect performance”, ELP said on LinkedIn.
The Euro9000 resolves this limitation through its diesel module, which adds extra traction power. “This allows to run about 25% heavier trains at the same running dynamic as, for example, with Bo-Bo Locomotives”, ELP tells RailFreight.com. The diesel module can boost the available power from 6MW to 7.7MW. In its first Italian run, ELP’s locomotive hauled 1,262 tonnes up into the Alpine mountains.
Beyond the Brenner Pass
The leasing company clearly has faith in the Euro9000. It currently has 33 of them in operation after it ordered 40 units in 2019. It not only performs well in the Alpine region, but is also used in other regions, explains ELP. “The Euro9000 is already in operation on the Rhine-Danube corridor from the Hungarian frontier to the Antwerp-Rotterdam-Amsterdam ports.”
It also traverses the ScanMed [Scandinavian–Mediterranean] route from northern Germany through the Brenner Pass into Italy, and operates along the Rhine-Alpine corridor connecting the Netherlands and Belgium to Italy via Switzerland, ELP adds.
“As a full multi-system hybrid locomotive with a boogie design, ready to change from 1,435-millimetre to broad gauge, the Euro9000 is a real ‘Europeaner’, ready to be operated all over Europe”, ELP concludes.