The Class ES64F4 locomotive from Siemens, already operating in Germany for DB AG and Railion Deutschland AG under the Class 189 designation, has been certified for operation on the new Betuwe Line. The first locomotives have been running between Rotterdam in the Netherlands and Duisburg in Germany since the beginning of December. This certification award means that the first electric locomotive is now available for freight traffic on this line.

It was only a year ago that DB AG had placed an order with a consortium of Siemens Transportation Systems (TS) and Alstom, calling for twenty-six Class 189 multi-system locomotives built by Siemens to be equipped with the European Train Control System (ETCS) and with the Dutch automatic train protection system (ATB).

The ETCS equipment enables trains to be operated in cross-border traffic on the new Betuwe Line between the Port of Rotterdam and the German industrial region in North Rhine-Westphalia without the need for time-consuming locomotive changes. The project is part of the European rail freight corridor that is planned to run from Rotterdam in the Netherlands to Genoa, Italy. It marks yet another stage in the gradual standardization of the European railway network that is aimed at facilitating traffic across national borders, shortening travel times and increasing the operating performance of railway lines.

As consortium leader, Siemens' share includes the equipping of the locomotives in the TS plant in Munich-Allach, the engineering and the certification for 1.5 kV DC, which is the standard line voltage in the Netherlands, and for 25 kV AC, which is the voltage used on the Betuwe Line. Alstom's share comprises the supply of the European Train Control System (ETCS) and the Dutch automatic train protection system (ATB) as well as certification of the signaling and safety equipment in the Netherlands.

The Class 189 locomotives are part of the 100 ES64F4 multi-system locomotives that Siemens TS delivered to DB AG between 2002 and 2005. Meanwhile, there are 15 versions of the ES64F4, which are already in operation in eleven countries. ES64F4 type freight locomotives are operating in Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania, Sweden, Slovenia and Switzerland. Certification for the Netherlands now makes Siemens the first supplier to fill the map of Central Europe with a certified locomotive in every country.

See the corresponding photographs to this press release at www.siemens.com/ts-pictures/Betuwe