DB Cargo with New Dual-Power Locomotives for Sustainable Operations

DB Cargo has signed a framework agreement for dual-power locomotives with Siemens Mobility. These locomotives can operate on both diesel and electric power. This results in an annual savings of eight million liters of diesel. The investment includes around 400 vehicles and has a volume of over one billion euros.

(Mainz) Less diesel, less CO₂, even greener: DB Cargo is acquiring new dual-power locomotives for its line and shunting fleet. The vehicles can operate on both electric and diesel power. Siemens Mobility has secured the framework agreement for up to 400 vehicles, corresponding to an investment volume significantly exceeding one billion euros. The locomotives will be of the Vectron Dual Mode type with specific adaptations for the operational spectrum planned by DB Cargo. Initially, the freight railway of DB will order 100 locomotives of the series 248. Deliveries will start from 2023.

“Dual drive form and dual benefit: We will grow and rejuvenate our fleet for our customers with a modern, powerful locomotive. On the other hand, we are reinforcing the environmental friendliness of rail transport. This locomotive fits us, as it is like us at DB Cargo: large, green, and powerful,” says Ralf Günter Kloß, Production Board Member at DB Cargo.

Investment in Economic Rail Freight Transport

“With the Vectron Dual Mode, DB Cargo is investing in a future-oriented, sustainable, and economical rail freight transport. As an alternative to conventional diesel locomotives, the Vectron Dual Mode offers the best of both worlds: on electrified sections, it operates purely electrically to save fuel and reduce maintenance costs. On non-electrified sections, it can switch to diesel operation without changing locomotives,” says Albrecht Neumann, CEO Rolling Stock at Siemens Mobility.

To transport freight cars in single wagon traffic to the customer’s rail connection, diesel locomotives are still in use today. Because even if the main line is electrified, the “last mile” is usually only accessible with a combustion engine. The dual-power locomotive can do both. It operates with a diesel engine as well as electrically on tracks with overhead lines. This reduces diesel consumption and CO₂ emissions. With the new locomotives, DB saves around eight million liters of fuel and 17,000 tons of CO₂ annually. DB Cargo’s goal is to equip around 70 percent of diesel locomotives with innovative drives by 2030.

Photo: © DB / Image caption: Ralf Günter Kloß, Production Board Member at DB Cargo (left), Albrecht Neumann, CEO Rolling Stock at Siemens Mobility during the contract signing

www.dbcargo.com