188 005 on test to Hungary

The locomotive 188 005 is still undergoing tests, during which it appeared last year at the VUZ Velim test centre, still in its original livery with two shades of grey and with red fields on the driver's cabs and entrance doors. In the Czech Republic, it has also appeared recently, even in Velim, as shown in the photo from 1 November 2024.

This time, however, 188 005 was not heading to VUZ, but to Hungary, for which reason it was included in a convoy of other vehicles heading for various tests. The locomotive now wears a new livery promoting the TRAXX Universal family, which includes the TRAXX3 AC, DC and MS versions since 2023, the sidewalls inviting those interested in making trains to join Alstom, and the main frame still shows a sign of a top speed of 160 km/h.

It will now be necessary to wait how long the tests and, in particular, the approval of the TRAXX with a top speed of 200 km/h will take, with the very important fact that these locomotives will be equipped with Alstom's Onvia Cab ETCS (new name for Atlas from this year), a major change from the TRAXXes with Bombardier Transportation's EbiCab ETCS OBUs originally used. It is all these changes that explain the more than four-year lead time for SNCB to deliver the Class 17 locomotives from the February 2022 order.

Besides the Belgian Class 17, another such TRAXX design would be a contract for the Romanian ARF, which ordered 16 locomotives "with a speed of 160 - 200 km/h" in January 2024. And another customer should become RegioJet later this year, which intends to order ten TRAXXes with a maximum speed of 200 km/h.