ČD Cargo ordered 11 more TRAXX3 MS locomotives

On 20 August 2024, ČD Cargo ordered 11 more TRAXX3 MS locomotives as the exercise of the last option from the original contract for these locomotives. The evolution of successive orders and options was as follows.

In August 2018, the first ten locomotives, 388.001 - 010, were ordered with an option for up to 40 more. Then followed separately delivered locomotive 388.011, ordered in early 2021 and put into service in early 2022, which Bombardier Transportation built for ČD Cargo as a subject to compensation for the delayed delivery of the first batch.

Of the option, 16 TRAXXes were ordered in mid-2022 (with production split into two batches, only 388.012 - 016 has been delivered so far), another 12 locomotives were confirmed in mid-2023 (for ČD Cargo subsidiaries in Poland and Slovakia), and now followed an order for the remaining 11 TRAXXes. 388.011 is also part of the framework contract, so the latter has been filled in its entirety of 50 units.

In the meantime, 10 TRAXXes were ordered in April 2021 under a separate contract, for operation within the Austrian branch, CD Cargo Niederlassung Wien. These will be 388.017 - 026 with (currently) expected entry into service in 2025. In total ČD Cargo will use 60 TRAXX3 MS locomotives.

The TRAXXes up to 388.026 will be equipped with the EbiCab on-board ETCS and the following ones with Atlas. The delay in the approval of EbiCab for ETCS supervised operation is the reason why this locomotive type is still not approved for main line operation in Austria and for operation under ETCS supervision in the Czech Republic, which could be a major problem for users of these TRAXXs after the introduction of sole ETCS operation on Czech corridors from January 2025. However, Alstom is working hard to achieve approval by the end of this year.

The earliest deliveries of modern interoperable locomotives to ČD Cargo will be ten Vectron MSes of a version A54, the first of which was on display at Rail Business Days in June this year. Most of these have already been built, but are stored and awaiting approval...