Vectron DM approved with ETCS
posted on 28th Jan 2026 05:16
On 3 December 2025, the ERA issued a decision on the approval of the Vectron Dual Mode locomotive with ETCS OBU, more precisely, the approval of a new variant of the type approved in Germany already in July 2022. As a result, this finally allows unrestricted operation of these locomotives in Austria as well as international deployment between Germany and Austria.
In the mentioned countries, these locomotives have so far been approved separately (in Austria since September 2022), always for operation only in the respective country and without ETCS OBU, for which different conditions apply there. In Germany, unrestricted operation is possible in such a case, while in Austria only on lines not equipped with ETCS, which ultimately and simply means that the vehicle is intended exclusively for domestic operation and only outside the main corridors.
The Vectron DM locomotives ordered and already produced (in 2021 - 22) for Austrian customers were initially operated in Germany (with one later exception, 3193 902, see below), leased either by their customers or directly by Siemens if their handover to Austrian customers was postponed. Two of them (3193 901/248 996 and 3193 903/248 999) were used directly by the manufacturer in its Wegberg-Wildenrath test center. The locomotives leased (at least initially) by Siemens were registered in Germany and designated according to the German system as Class 248 instead of the final Class 3193 designation according to the Austrian system.
The largest customer at that time was the Stern & Hafferl Verkehrsgesellschaft (StH) with an order for four machines (later increased by two more, see below). The Steiermarkbahn Transport und Logistik (StB TL) and Bahnbau Wels (BBW) each had an order for one locomotive.
For the StH, these were machines 3193 901 - 904, of which the first three received the designations 248 996, 998, 999. And only the locomotive 3193 902 began to be used by the StH in its operations in April 2023, but in view of the above-described restrictions, only on a short, 17 km section between the limestone quarry near the town of Ebensee and the cement plant in Gmunden, using diesel traction on the sidings of the starting and destination points.
After the current approval with the ETCS OBU, the StH has received all four of the ordered locomotives mentioned and as of 22 December 2025, it also took over the newly built 3193 905 and 906, ordered in December 2023.
The StB TL took over its locomotive (with the planned designation 3193 910) in 2023, but before and after this Vectron was, or is still, leased to Germany (as 248 995), currently to the operator smart rail.
The BBW locomotive (planned as 3193 920, now 248 997) was handed over to the customer, BBW, after a period of lease to German operators, but is used in Germany by its sister (albeit Austrian) company Rhomberg Sersa Bahntechnik.