FRENCH National Railways (SNCF) has advertised the sale of 10 class BB 27000 four-axle electric freight locomotives, which will be offered to bidders in November by means of online auction site Agorastore.
The dual-voltage 1.5kV dc/25kV ac Prima locomotives come from a batch built by Alstom between March 2002 and March 2003 and have undergone mid-life refurbishment. They were formerly operated by Fret SNCF, the national railway’s rail freight subsidiary, mainly hauling long-distance intermodal services.
Other SNCF subsidiaries will not be permitted to bid for the locomotives. The disposal is a direct result of the winding up of Fret SNCF in order to avoid a major fine from the European Commission (EC), which believes that Fret SNCF was in receipt of illegal state aid.
SNCF has been obliged to transfer 23 freight services to competitors. Expecting to dispose of 53 locomotives as a result, earlier this year it sold four BB 27000 locomotives to GCA Traction, a subsidiary of French transport and logistics company Groupe Charles André (GCA), which is taking over former Fret SNCF services.
Further locomotive sales are expected next year. Luxembourg Railways (CFL) subsidiary CFL Cargo currently leases a large number of BB 27000 locomotives from Fret SNCF to haul the piggyback service from Bettembourg in Luxembourg to Le Boulou in France, close to the Spanish border. CFL Cargo is expected to gradually replace the leased fleet with six-axle Stadler Euro 6000 locomotives.
