METRANS launches direct haulage to Italy

METRANS hired three Vectrons in the A35 variant from Akiem, thereby incorporating in its fleet locomotives capable of operating in Italy and the entire Balkans for the first time. These are 193 925 and 926 taken over at the end of July and 193 927, which followed in the second half of August. The need for such a variant stems from the wide regional scope of METRANS, which is currently expanding further towards the Balkans, but primarily these machines will be used for the direct haulage of its own services to Trieste.

The very first case took place on 24 August with a train from Dunajská Streda, which Vectron 193 926 hauled from Bratislava-Petržalka to the destination station. In Italy, the METRANS trains bound for Trieste are operating under license of Adriafer and with the latter’s train driver. For the Bratislava-Petržalka - Tarvisio section, another loco is necessary, which METRANS also provides from its own fleet, but for this purpose the variant without equipment for operation in Italy is sufficient.

This is a representative of the first batch of Vectrons in the Akiem fleet. Their first lessor was CER Cargo Holding, which now operates five of the six ordered locomotives, ecco-rail is another one their operator.

METRANS has in its own fleet 40 TRAXX2 MS machines and 30 Vectron MS locomotives, with deliveries of another one batch of ten scheduled to start this October. Furthermore METRANS currenty hires from in total 22 locomotives of various types, above all of various versions of TRAXX family, 21 of them being from Akiem and Railpool fleets, one Vectron is hired from Cargounit.