Captrain España and Alpha Trains signed an agreement to lease up to 21 newly build Stadler Euro6000 electric locomotives, marking the first order for this type of locomotive. The initial order comprises 11 new six-axle multi-system electric locomotives of which five standard gauge locomotives and six Iberian gauge vehicles. They will be delivered from the second half of 2021.
The standard gauge locomotives will be certified for the transport services in Spain, France and Luxembourg. This will allow those units to be used for hauling trains coming from Spain on three European rail freight corridors such as North Sea Mediterranean, Mediterranean and Atlantic.
The six Iberian gauge units will operate heavy freight trains in Spain on the new 25kV electrified lines, and in particular, through the 25-km Pajares tunnel which is expected to be opened in 2021.
The Stadler Euro6000 electric locomotives will be manufactured at the Albuixech plant in Valencia. Their main distinguishing feature is their 6 axles, compared to the 4 axles of the majority of the current European fleet.
“This order strengthens our partnership with Captrain España and expands our long-lasting relationship with Stadler Valencia. We are very pleased to have placed the order for these Euro6000 locomotives to broaden our portfolio of locomotives to provide an even wider locomotive offering to our customers,” Fernando Pérez, Managing Director of the Locomotives Division at Alpha Trains, said.
The order is the result of a close cooperation between Stadler Valencia, Captrain España, Alpha Trains and SNCF which allowed to design this new type of locomotive able to haul heavy freight trains of up to 1,800 gross tonnes on Spanish Mediterranean Corridor currently under construction in standard gauge. The corridor has very specific operating and technical conditions, as it has three types of voltages and three different signalling systems. In addition, the corridor is used for mixed high-speed passenger and heavy freight services.
“Once again, this shows up the strong commitment of Captrain España to develop and enlarge the freight railway market in Spain and to maximize the utilisation of the newly built rail infrastructures. We will continue pushing for the sustainable and profitable rail transport development, to help the States to fulfil the European Commission target of a 30% rail freight share in 2030,” Miquel Llevat, President of the Board of Captrain España said.
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