Akiem, a rolling stock leasing company co-owned by SNCF and DWS, ordered 65 Vectron AC and Vectron MS locomotives from Siemens Mobility. They will be delivered in mid-2024. The locomotives will be deployed for both freight and passenger transportation.

The two companies signed an agreement for the purchase of locomotives at the end of last year. “Following the signing of the framework contract with Akiem, and a first order in December, this marks the first order for a large number of units,” said Albrecht Neumann, CEO of Rolling Stock at Siemens Mobility. The first order was for 20 Vectrons, adding up to a total of 85 locomotives ordered by Akiem from Siemens Mobility.

“The ordered locomotives have a maximum power of 6.4 megawatts and can be delivered with a top speed of either 200 or 230 km/h. They can be used for cross-border freight transport as well as fast passenger service in many European countries”, a joint press release stated.

Vectron AC and Vectron MS

The Vectron locomotives are purely electric, with the AC running on alternating current while the MS can run on both alternating and direct current. A spokesperson from Siemens Mobility told RailFreight.com that the Vectron AC can run on railways with an electrification system working at 15kV and 16.7 Hz as well as 25kV and 50 Hz. The former is widely used in Sweden, Norway, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The latter is more common in Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, the US, and Mexico.

The spokesperson added that the Vectron MS can run on the same lines as the AC, with the addition of railways working at 3000 V and 1500 V on direct current. The lines running at 3000 V are present throughout Europe, in Brazil, North Korea, Morocco, and South Africa, while the 1500 V is commonly used for subways around the world.

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