United Kingdom Direct Rail Services 88003 at
InnoTrans fair 2016 In September 2013, UK rail operator
Direct Rail Services announced it had ordered ten Euro Dual locomotives, with a engine, and 4MW rating electrical equipment (25kV AC operation). The type was subsequently designated as the
Class88. The design is a development of the
Class 68 (
Stadler UKLight) diesel locomotives that Direct Rail Services introduced in 2014, having the bodyshell, cab, brakes, bogies, traction equipment and control software in common, the diesel engine is a
Caterpillar C27, albeit a model that conforms with the
European IIIB emissions standards unlike that of the Class 68. In April 2016, one vehicle was transferred to the
Velim railway test circuit for testing.
Rail Operations Group In January 2021,
Rail Operations Group confirmed their order of 30 Class 93 locomotives, with the first ten deliveries scheduled for 2023. Unlike the earlier Class 88, these shall be tri mode vehicles furnished with a battery pack, enabling operations away from overhead catenary wires without activating the diesel engine.
GB Railfreight On 29 April 2022,
GB Railfreight announced an order for 30 new
Class 99 locomotives, financed by
Beacon Rail.
France Following its use in manufacturer trials, the prototype Euro Dual was put up for sale. French operator
VFLI purchased this locomotive, had it furnished with French-specific safety apparatus, and has put it into use. During late 2015, PRASA began proceedings in the
High Court of South Africa to terminate the contract for both the Afro4000 and Euro-Dual locomotives ordered from Vossloh, and to be repaid the R2.65billion already expended. A specific problem cited was that the supplied diesel locomotives were substantially
out of gauge for parts of the network, being 4.14m high, as opposed to a 3.965m limit specified by the government infrastructure and logistics organisation
Transnet. PRASA also claimed that Swifambo lacked the necessary experience, and or certification to be awarded the contract, and that Swifambo had failed to meet the terms of the bidding process, in that it lacked experience in the supply of railway equipment.
Germany In 2017, private German operator (HVLE) ordered ten Euro Dual locomotives, with an option of ordering further ten, becoming the launch customer for the Euro Dual. Designated in Germany as the Class 159, these locomotives have six traction axles, a maximum continuous power of (electric) and (diesel); the starting traction effort can be as much as 500kN and the maximum speed is specified with . The variant features AC traction motors and separate
IGBT converters for each axle. The diesel engine is a
CAT C175-16 rated at 2800kW (Stage IIIB compliant). The construction is fully
TSI compliant. It features the latest
ETCS Baseline3
train protection system and legacy
PZB for the German network. During 2018, the first three locomotives were delivered and began the homologation process. Shortly thereafter, a major order for 30 Euro Duals, accompanied by options for 70 more, was placed by the Swiss rolling stock leasing company European Loc Pool (ELP).
Tanzania Tanzania Railways Corporation ordered six Euro Dual locomotives for
Tanzania Standard Gauge Railway in January 2020.
Turkey In 2019, the Turkish open access operator
Körfez Ulaştırma ordered seven locomotives; these are intended for 2,000tonne oil trains in Turkey. In addition to supplying the Euro Duals themselves, Stadler is also to contracted perform all maintenance activities upon the fleet. Built in
Stadler's plant in Albuixech, they were designated as the
257 series. The metre-gauge locomotives provide freight service, transporting
potash and cars in the
Llobregat-Anoia line.
Norway The Norwegian freight hauler
Onrail rents two EuroDuals from European Loc Pool, starting 2022. They are intended for use in Norway, but have been used in Sweden also. ==See also==