THE European Union Agency for Railways (ERA) has granted Siemens Mobility type authorisation for the upgrade of Eurosprinter ES64F4 locomotives to ETCS Baseline 3.4. Locomotives equipped with Atlas ETCS can now meet the latest European safety and interoperability standard, enabling more efficient and harmonised cross-border operations.
The ETCS upgrade project was launched in December 2020, with prototype conversions completed at Siemens’ Munich Allach plant in Germany after 16 months. Following extensive testing and validation, the application for type authorisation was submitted as planned to ERA last December. The approval marks a major milestone in securing the long-term deployment of the locomotive fleet on key European freight corridors.
“We support our locomotives and customers for decades, ensuring long-term reliability and smooth cross-border operation,” says Steffen Bobsien, vice president locomotives and passenger coaches at Siemens Mobility.
More than 250 Eurosprinter locomotives have been delivered to various operators across Europe since their introduction in the early 2000s. They are the predecessors of the successful Vectron platform. Designed for cross-border operation, the locomotives currently operate across Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Poland and the Czech Republic.
