Today, the obligatory tests for new locomotives to get approved for Hungary were done with boxXpress.de 193 882 and 883. Nice impressions. (Norbert Tilai)

On 27.03.0215, the brand new 193 882 and 883 for boxXpress.de, were ready to go with their first freight train, bound for Hamburg. boxXpress.de now owns eight Vectron locomotives in two sub series:

193 840-843 for services in Germany and Austria
193 880-883 for services in Germany, Austria and Hungary, however 882/883 still need to visit Hungary for final approval)

This is Vectron no.7 for freight operator boxXpress.de. On 24.03.2015 this machine made a test run around Munich.

Almost one year ago, freight operator BoxXpress.de already took delivery of four Vectron locomotives, the designated 193 840-841 and 880-881.

At this moment, BoxXpress 193 840 has no vynils anymore, it is just plain white. - HH/SC BoxXpress.de Vectron

The Vectron series of locomotives has completed its certification procedure for conventional rail transport in accordance with the Technical Specification for Interoperability TSI CR LOC&PAS. The EC certificate was presented yesterday by Ulrich Wiescholek, Head of the German notified body Eisenbahn-Cert (EBC), to Karl-Hermann Klausecker, CEO of Siemens Locomotives and Components.

“Vectron is the first electrical locomotive platform to be certified according to this specification in Europe. The certificate enormously simplifies for us the process of national approvals with regard to the expenditure and the time required. This means we have taken another important step toward approval of the Vectron throughout Europe”, said Karl-Hermann Klausecker on receiving the certificate.

The Vectron locomotives thus meet all standardized, pan-European technical specifications for the approval of locomotives. These specifications not only include the TSI CR LOC&PAS, but also the TSI HS RST for rolling stock of the trans-European high-speed rail system, Class 2 (vehicles with a maximum speed of between 190 km/h and 250 km/h), the TSI SRT (safety in rail tunnels), the TSI PRM (access for persons with restricted mobility), the noise requirements according to the TSI HS RST and the TSI NOI (rolling stock - noise) of conventional rail transport, and the TSI CCS (control, command and signaling) when using an ERTM system.

This has established the basis for obtaining the individual national approvals in Europe more easily and with considerably reduced test expenditure. At present, the approval authorities of all EU member states are aligning their national approval requirements with the TSI regulations. This means that only those national requirements that are not covered by the TSI still have to be met. These are being notified to the European Railway Agency (ERA) as National Technical Rules (NTR).

A number of customer-specific versions of the Vectron series of locomotives have already been able to obtain series approval from the German Federal Railway Authority (EBA). Thanks to the extended certification now available, all further Vectron variants pending approval at EBA can obtain continuous series approval until December 2020, after which applications can be submitted for extensions. In the case of locomotives without TSI CR LOC&PAS certification, the series approval ends in mid-2017. BoxXpress.de Vectron CargoServ Vectron DB Cargo Vectron (Poland) FuoriMuro Vectron MRCE Vectron Paribus (Northrail) Vectron Railpool Vectron Siemens Vectron locos used for test and promotion VR Group: Vectron locomotives for Finland

Siemens 21825 - boxXpress 193 840
Siemens 21826 - boxXpress 193 841
Siemens 21832 - BoxXpress 193 880
Siemens 21838 - BoxXpress 193 881

193 840, 841 and 880 will be handed over to the customer today. 193 841 and 880 are being transported to Hamburg. 193 840 will stay in Munich for its first services. - DSO BoxXpress.de Vectron

Some first images here.

BoxXpress.de Vectron

The 803 is hired to boxXpress.de but got some time off for these tests. At this moment, boxXpress is also using Siemens Vectron 193 924 for its container services. The image shows the 924 parked in front of a freight train after its arrival in Hamburg last week. - EK/HdJ/boxx

[edit] The delivery of the first new Vectron locomotive to boxXpress.de is postponed to October. It will be the 193 841.

BoxXpress has placed an order with Siemens to supply four Vectron AC locomotives. The locomotives will be handed over to the customer this year at the Siemens locomotive works in Munich-Allach. Siemens will also perform the full service for the vehicles.

The ordered locomotives are planned for deployment in cross-border services between Germany and Austria. Alongside national train protection systems, all the vehicles will also be equipped with the European Train Control System (ETCS). The locomotives have a maximum power output of 6,400 kW and a top speed of 160 km/h. The decisive factors for placing the order with Siemens were the good experiences had by boxXpress in operating its fleet of Siemens locomotives in terms of performance and reliability as well as the short delivery time.

BoxXpress is one of the leading providers of combined transportation solutions and and transports a total annual container volume of over 700,000 TEUs within German-speaking Europe. - Siemens