Freight operator orders 30 locos to modernise fleet
SLOVENIA: Freight operator SŽ Tovorni Promet has awarded Alstom a contract to supply 30 Traxx Universal multisystem electric locomotives for hauling heavy trains in central Europe.
Deliveries under the €152m+VAT contract signed on March 21 are scheduled between April 2027 and September 2028.
The locos will be equipped with Alstom’s Onvia Cab ETCS. They will be approved for use in Slovenia, Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia and Serbia, and will also be able to access the Italian border station of Opicina and interchanges between Italy and Austria.
The operator said the locomotives would be able to haul trains around 30% heavier than its Class 363 locos built by Alsthom in the 1970s, and their maximum speed would be a third higher. They will consume around 20% less electricity and be significantly quieter than existing locomotives, while maintenance costs will be halved.
Fleet investment plans
SŽ Tovorni Promet is a joint venture of national railway SŽ and Czech company EP Logistics International which acquired a 49% stake in the freight business in 2022.
The operator says it is aiming to establish ‘the largest independent alliance in rail cargo transport in central Europe’.
Ordering new electric locomotives was ‘a fundamental strategic objective’, and marks the largest modernisation of Slovenia’s freight fleet since an order for 32 Siemens Class 541 locos was placed in 2004.
As part of its modernisation plans SŽ Tovorni Promet has previously purchased 100 wagons for ore transport, as well as four diesel shunters, and has modernised 12 older diesel shunters.
It is modernising its wagons with quieter composite brake pads, and equipping locos with ETCS and diesel locos with pre-heating systems to reduce noise and fuel consumption.
In the coming years, it plans to refurbish 12 main line diesel locomotives and purchase 750
