Trenitalia Ordered Locomotives Of Stadler's New EUROLIGHT Dual Family

On 20 March 2023 Stadler and Trenitalia have signed a four-year framework agreement for the supply of up to 50 EUROLIGHT Dual locomotives with a first call-off order for 13 ones. The agreement also includes the full service maintenance of the locomotives for a period of 10 years, extendable up to further 10 years.

The tender was launched by the operator in 2022 for a four-year framework agreement for the supply and maintenance of bi-mode (3 kV DC + diesel) locomotives. The 160 km/h four-axle locomotives will form a new, dual-power member of the EUROLIGHT family, and will be deployed all over the Italian network for train rescue and passenger push-pull operations. The locomotives with the power of 3,000 kW in electric mode and 1,800 kW in diesel mode will be able to rescue up to two coupled ETR 1000 high-speed trains on a 21 ‰ climbing, which represents the most unfavorable condition in Italy for this kind of operation. 

The starting tractive force will be 300 kN and the continuous traction force 280 kN. The weight of the locomotive will be 80 t, the diameter of the new wheelsets 1,100 mm and the fuel tank volume 2,000 l. The EUROLIGHT Dual locomotives for Trenitalia will incorporate the ETCS Baseline 3 Release 2 on-board units, together with SCMT and SCC domestic ATPs. The machines with diesel and electric traction are characterized by high performance, low weight, and 20 t axle-load, making them suitable for running on both main and secondary lines.

The visualisation of ROG’s Class 93 locomotive was used for the presentation of the new order for Trenitalia, only with a change of colours, so that the typical British pantographs of Brecknell Willis (part of Wabtec) was retained; the Italian version will however use the appropriate pantograph for the RFI (Rete Ferroviaria Italiana) network.

The design features include regenerative braking with energy recovery, an efficient AC traction system with one inverter per axle providing a high level of redundancy and increased reliability, the HEP system to supply energy to the train, as well as the possibility to install either the UIC screw/hooks or  automatic couplings. As the newest member of the EUROLIGHT family, the new locomotives share with the rest of the platform the compact design and lightweight monocoque structure, as well as the latest bogie technology. 

The first EUROLIGHT locomotives, pure diesels, were the Class 68 machines, which initially as part of the UKLight family were built by Vossloh España (15 locomotives) for Beacon Rail Leasing Ltd. (BRLL) and hired to Direct Rail Services (DRS). Later BRLL acquired 10 + 7 Class 68s, and DRS acquired directly two locomotives, so in total 34 Class 68s were built (together with 10 Class 88 locomotives for BRLL to be leased to DRS).

Then Adif ordered a batch of 22 EUROLIGHT diesel locomotives in 2019, designated Class 336 and destined for rescue services on the 1,435 mm gauge network in Spain. Their deliveries will start soon. Adif executed the option of six additional locomotives in UIC gauge last year, therefore there are total 28 Class 336s on order. 

And based on the Class 68, and Class 88, Stadler is also building the triple-power Class 93 locomotives for UK, of which a batch of ten was ordered by the Rail Operations Group (ROG) in 2021, and also forms part of the EUROLIGHT family. In the next weeks, with no confirmed date yet, 93 001 will be moved to the UK to start testing there.