ELP celebrated 5th anniversary

Just in May 2023, five years have passed since the founding of European Loc Pool. The company used the transport logistic fair to commemorate this together with its partners and customers. The celebration took place the first day of the fair, on 9 May, at the Großhesselohe, Isartalbahnhof station, just on the outskirts of München.

It is not just ordinary station, as its station building is headquarters of RailAdventure (RA), which not only has offices there, but also runs a restaurant and a brewery there, producing own beer, employing own brewer. It was therefore an ideal location for such an event and RA, as a provider of special transports, including locomotive movements between the various tests, is of course an important partner for ELP. The guests were transported there from the exhibition ground by Stadler’s FLIRT AKKU BEMU, which fits within ELP’s innovative approach.

Participants of the celebration party were given the possibility to visit an EURO9000 locomotive there, accompanied by RailAdventure’s 103 222. Perhaps can EURODUAL locomotive family once in the future become such a legend as the Class 103 surely is! Unlikely at InnoTrans 2022, the possibility to see EURO9000 was now exclusively given to the guests of this event only, as on account of the tight schedule of processes towards the handover, the locomotive could not be exhibited at the fair itself and its vistors had to be satisfied with one of EURODUALs, namely 159 222 leased to Retrack Germany (VTG).

European Loc Pool was founded in May 2018 in Frauenfeld, Switzerland, and entered into a framework contract with Stadler Rail for at least 100 EURODUAL locomotives in April 2019. Using this contract, 74 EURODUAL and 30 EURO9000 locomotives were ordered so far. As of today, ELP has closed leasing contracts for 64 EURODUALs and 21 EURO9000s. Of these, 52 EURODUALs have so far been put into operation.

HHPIs' 20-01 (159 201) was the first one, this operator puting its EURODUALs into service on 1 April 2020, following the type being approved in Germany on 12 February 2020. At this moment, 159 245 is the latest one, handed over to BELog Baustoffe-Entsorgung-Logistik on 5 May 2023.

EURODUAL in the basic 15/25 kV version has so far been approved in Germany, Austria, Sweden and Norway. ELP is now starting the approval procedure in the Balkans. The administrative steps to do so are already underway, and tests of one locomotive are scheduled for June and early July in Slovenia (there in the diesel traction only), Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro. Other countries such as Greece, Bulgaria, Romania or Northern Macedonia could follow later.