We already published the news in our daily newsletter in March, now we can show you a picture – thanks to Christoph Duswald. This is the new Vectron Dual Mode no. 248 501 for DB Fernverkehr:
In September 2022, during the Innotrans fair that year, Siemens Mobility officially announced its plan to deliver 21 Vectrons Dual Mode locomotives to DB Fernverkehr:
- To pull ICE-L trains to Westerland (Sylt) and Oberstdorf, end stations with no overhead wires.
- They are rescue locomotives for high-speed trains, e.g. for the Wendlingen-Ulm high-speed line.
- It needs a locomotive with ‘an unrestricted operational capability on the German railway network’.
Shortcuts used to place the order
There are two ‘shortcuts’ DB is used to get these machines ‘fast’. It used the frame contract for Vectron Dual Mode Light of DB Cargo/Bahnbau and placed a call-off order. Yet, the specs of these 21 extra machines will be very different:
- DB Cargo/Bahnbau get: 2.0 MW E, 1.1 MW D, Vmax 120 km/h;
- DB Fernverkehr wants 2.4 MW E, 2.0 MW D, Vmax 160 km/h, energy supply for passenger trains and ÖBB WTB bus, and different software/control systems.
DB stated that this is possible as the base concept of the locomotive does not change.
Secondly, DB pressed that ‘the other manufacturer’ (Railcolor: Bombardier=Alstom) could not deliver the diesel machines since July 2022 (Class 245). It needs the machines in 2026, authorised and with functioning ETCS—an impossible deadline for a completely new tender. Additionally, DB states that a separate order for just 21 machines could make the locomotives very expensive. It looked around within its organisation, but no other departments needed similar machines.
Innotrans 2024 – the ‘fake’ locomotive
That year, Siemens Mobility presented 248 020 as 248 500, a Vectron Dual Mode demo locomotive serving as the prototype for DB Fernverkehr’s future 248s. During the event, it received DB markings/striping.
The 501 is the first machine built according to the final specs and represents an official new Vectron subtype: G18.
The specs of the new DB Fernverkehr locomotives:
- Top speed: 160 km/h
- Power rating in E-operation: approx. 2,400 kW
- Power rating in DE-operation: approx. 2,030 kW (without load on the train busbar);
- Electrical braking power at the wheel (max): E-operation: 2,100 kW / DE-operation: 1,700 kW;
- Train power supply (max): 480 kVA;
- Total mass (max): 90 t;
- Train protection systems: PZB, ETCS, and the WTB-ÖBB train bus system (including wagon communication).
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