Bombardier wins Traxx locomotives order from DB Regio

Bombardier Transportation has won a €108m contract from German rail operator Deutsche Bahn Regio, a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn (DB), to supply an additional 32 class 146 electric locomotives for regional passenger services.

The new locomotives will follow the Traxx P160 AC design, capable of operating at up to 160km/h with six double-deck coaches, and will replace older locomotives on regional services.

Delivery of the new locomotives is scheduled for 2014 and is part of an option on an earlier agreement.

Traxx AC locomotives feature three-phase asynchronous propulsion technology to operate on standard gauge 15kV and 25 kV networks, as well as being designed for compatibility with Europe’s future ETCS/ERTMS train control and safety systems.

DB Regio currently operates 32 class 146s on its regional rail services in Lower Saxony, Upper Saxony, Hesse and Baden-Württemberg.

Bombardier manufactures the Traxx AC design locomotives for Deutsche Bahn, SBB Cargo, BLS, CFL, MAV and many European private railway companies and leasing companies like Railpool, Alpha Trains, CB Rail and MRCE.

In May 2011, Bombardier launched its Traxx AC locomotives with a supplementary diesel motor, called Last Mile Diesel, at the Transport Logistic Trade Fair in Germany.

Last Mile Diesel technology is designed to offer increased flexibility, especially at terminals, ports, construction sites and stations where a system change takes place.

It also removes the need to change locomotives in shunting areas of a rail network where there is no electricity line.

In April 2012, Deutsche Bahn ordered 16 Twindexx Vario multiple units from Bombardier Transportation for $208m to use on the Kiel-Hamburg and Flensburg-Hamburg railway lines in northern Germany.

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Image: Bombardier expects to deliver the additional Traxx P160 AC locomotives to DB Regio by 2014. Photo: courtesy of Bombardier.