Vectrons at Rail Business Days

In the opening hours of the main Czech railway fair, on June 10, both exhibited Vectrons were ceremonially presented. One of them was 383.443, which is a freshly delivered Vectron from the ongoing deliveries of the next batch for METRANS. The latter currently has a total of twenty ordered, 383.441 - 460, with deliveries scheduled to run until 2027 and an option for another ten. They have been put into service since March this year.

The entire twenty-strong batch will be delivered in the DE/AT/PL/CZ/SK/HU/SLO/HR/SRB configuration, with the possibility of additional activation for Bulgaria. METRANS is thus adding machines capable of operation in Serbia, and the Vectron just exhibited declared the vision of direct haulage from Central Europe to Turkey. METRANS has been operating the regular Dunajská Streda - Halkalı line for a long time, which it provides with its own operators  in Slovakia and Hungary.

In Serbia, it already has a licensed operator, the company M-RAIL, which is a joint venture with business partners. In Bulgaria, METRANS is currently in the process of establishing its own operator. Vectron MS locomotives are already in operation in the latter country, and Siemens plans to obtain their approval in Turkey.

However, direct traffic is still a question of the distant future, as the 100-kilometer Niš - Dimitrovgrad section of the route in question will remain without electrification for many years to come in southern Serbia. It is not possible to run to Bulgaria in continuous electric traction even through Romania, where many sections are still in poor condition too. And METRANS is not willing to use transit route via Romania anyway. A current complication requiring the use of diesel traction (or a long diversion through Croatia) is also the ongoing gradual reconstruction of the Hungarian part of the Budapest - Belgrade line.

The second Vectron exhibited was 383.022 of ČD Cargo. In this case, it was the final locomotive in the batch, the first of which, 383.013, was exhibited at RBD 2024. All ten Vectrons were manufactured last year and put into operation in October and November 2024 after approval was obtained, as they have the new control system software of version F; the Vectrons currently being delivered to METRANS are also equipped with the latter. The ČD Cargo locomotive was provided with stickers with the symbols of various industries as a reminder of the close connection between industry and rail freight transport.