DE 18 Stage V Locomotive Given ERA Approval In Italy

On 18 April 2023 Vossloh Rolling Stock announced that the European Railway Agency (ERA) has approved the DE 18 Stage V mixed-traffic locomotive for use on the Italian network. With its extensive railway network and one of the highest volumes of rail freight traffic in Europe, Italy has been one of Vossloh Rolling Stock’s target markets since the beginning. 

Bernd Hoppe, CEO of Vossloh Rolling Stock, said: „Now that our powerful flagship locomotive has successfully positioned itself with Italian operators and is being used to provide a host of strategic services, we’re employing the latest engine technology to increase both the deployment radius and the versatility of the DE 18 for our customers”. Currently, there are 11 DE18 locomotives in the market (all rented) and it is envisaged that by 2024 the figure will be more than doubled.

The Stage V engines set themselves apart thanks to particularly low emissions that remain well below the legal limits without the use of either urea-based or any other additives. And using them in combination with the ‘Low Emission’ function developed by Vossloh Rolling Stock halves the measured values again, making the DE 18 Stage V locomotive suitable for use on construction sites or in areas with special emission requirements like tunnels or marshaling yards. Taking the environmental concept further, the engines have been engineered to also be able to run on HVO biofuels without requiring modifications, which can reduce CO₂ emissions by up to 55 %.