Spain: On 12 June, the new mainline electric locomotive was unveiled at the manufacturer’s site in Valencia.
At the end of the year, the rolling stock is due to leave the Spanish plant to undergo testing at the VUZ Velim test centre in Czechia, while the commissioning in Switzerland, Austria and Germany is planned for 2027. The Swiss national operator SBB has become the launch customer for the locomotives of the new platform.
Designed for a speed of up to 160 km/h, the four-axle locomotive (with the Bo-Bo wheel arrangement) can be used for freight and passenger operations. It has a power of 7 MW at the wheel rim and a starting tractive effort of 350 kN. The new platform is based on the subsystems and components applied in Stadler’s six-axle Co-Co locomotives, the EuroDual and the Euro9000. The Swiss manufacturer indicates that the Euro DuFour four-axle variant is expected to enter the most in-demand segment of mainline freight locomotives in the European market.
The platform features a tri-level inverter technology. SBB’s locomotives are designed to operate on 15 kV and 25 kV AC lines and 1.5 kV and 3 kV DC lines. The modern traction system with energy storage capabilities is supposed to reduce energy consumption by 15% in comparison with the current locomotive fleet.
Sketch of the four-axle Euro DuFour locomotive from Stadler. Source: Stadler
Part of the Swiss operator’s new fleet will be the Euro DuFour catenary-battery locomotives fitted with four traction battery modules of 600 kW in total to ensure last-mile operations. Meanwhile, Stadler has announced that other hybrid versions will also be available, including a Euro DuFour with a more powerful battery pack of up to 2,000 kW.
The locomotive has a monocoque body made of high-strength low-alloyed steel, allowing for weight reduction, according to Stadler. Another peculiarity of the vehicle is its bogie with an axle load less than 18 tf, which is expected to reduce the infrastructure wear by 20% compared to other freight locomotives in the market.
In September 2024, the freight operator SBB Cargo awarded Stadler with a contract for 36 multi-system Euro DuFour electric locomotives, with 22 of them to be equipped with batteries. The customer has an option for an additional 93 units. The first batch is scheduled for delivery in March 2029.
In the long term, the new rolling stock is going to become the only type of mainline locomotives operated by SBB Cargo. It is estimated that the fleet renewal programme and more effective condition-based maintenance will cut operating costs by approximately 60%.
