SBB Cargo and Stadler Winterthur AG recently presented the new hybrid locomotive, type Eem 923, for the first time.
In early 2012, SBB Cargo will start service with the first of the 30 locomotives ordered.
They will enable an environmentally friendly and more efficient line and delivery service.
“It is the most modern and innovative shunting locomotive currently on the market,” explains Hartmut Dietrich, General Manager Stadler Winterthur AG, at today’s presentation of the first vehicle.
According to Dietrich, the newly developed shunting locomotive represents a milestone in the company’s manufacturing history.
It is based on type Ee 922, which SBB’s Passenger Division is currently using successfully for shunting operations.
Although similar in appearance, internally the new hybrid locomotive differs from its purely electrically driven predecessor.
“Alongside a doubly powerful electric drive, the Eem 923 also has a supplementary diesel auxiliary drive to serve sidings without a contact line – which significantly increases efficiency,” illustrates Alberto Cortesi, Head of Engineering at Stadler Winterthur.
The hybrid drive is ideal for SBB Cargo’s purposes. Since the Eem 923 is suitable for both line operation and shunting, SBB Cargo gains palpable flexibility in its production.
“With a maximum speed of 100 km/h, the new locomotive will make it significantly easier to use free routes on the heavily loaded Swiss rail network,” explains Michel Henzi, General Project Manager at SBB Cargo.
Furthermore, SBB Cargo is expecting significantly higher availability of the vehicles, combined with lower operating and maintenance costs.
“Once all 30 of the locomotives ordered are in operation from 2013, the operating costs will drop significantly, just through operation using mainly electrical energy. In addition, CO2 emissions will be reduced by more than 4,000 tonnes per year,” says Henzi.
For Jürgen Mues, Head of Asset Management and Member of the Management Board at SBB Cargo, the hybrid locomotive is just as much an efficient as an innovative solution.
“With this vehicle, we consciously decided on a particularly environmentally-friendly shunting locomotive which is also highly energy-efficient.”
Mues also sees the vehicle as a ‘clear commitment’ by SBB Cargo to wagonload freight in Switzerland.
