Belgian Railways Class 18 (Siemens)
| HLE 18, HLE 19 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 1857 at Brugge-Sint-Pieters railway station. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Technical information :[3][4] except where noted | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
- For the original Class 18 built in 1973/4 by Alsthom see SNCB Class 18 (Alsthom)
The SNCB/NMBS HLE 18 (Siemens class ES60U3) are a series of four axle Bo′Bo′ multivoltage electric Siemens EuroSprinter locomotives ordered in two batches of sixty in 2006 and 2008.
The locomotives were supplied for use by SNCB/NMBS (Belgian national railways) on passenger services.
96 of the class form the HLE 18 class, 24 units fitted with an automatic central coupler form the SNCB HLE 19 class.[5]
History
An order for 60 units, value €211 million, was placed in December 2006 for delivery between January 2009 and June 2010.[7][8][9] In December 2008, an option to order 60 more locomotives was exercised for an amount of € 222M, for delivery between June 2010 and April 2012.[10]
The locomotives were ordered to replace SNCB Class 13 and Class 27 locomotives on passenger intercity services.[11]
Locomotive number 1860 was officially presented at InnoTrans in 2008.[3] The first unit, number 1801 was transferred to the Velim railway test circuit for testing in December 2008.[12]
On March 3, 2009, the first unit (roadnumber 1802) was officially delivered to SNCB/NMBS for test and homologation purpose.[13] Homologation issues delayed commercial introduction (originally planned for the summer timeschedule - May 2011),[14] as a result Siemens was obliged to pay the maximum amount of penalties (€ 21.12 million).[15]
In July 2011 the first revenue earning Intercity services ran, under temporary approval.[5] The type received homologation certification for use in Belgium in late 2011.[16]
References
- ^ a b SNCB HLE 18-19 www.railcolor.net, "order details"
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Locomotieven type 18 goed onthaald, SNCB (2011), Type 18-19: technische fiche
- ^ a b c d "SNCB dual-system loco to be unveiled". Railway Gazette. 23 September 2008.
- ^ a b Locomotives - Reference List (PDF), Siemens, Three-System Universal Locomotive HLE 18, p.6
{{citation}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help) - ^ a b c SNBC HLE 18-19 (www.railcolor.net), milesstones
- ^ a b SNCB HLE 18-19 www.railcolor.net, "fleet list"
- ^ "La SNCB commande 60 locomotives électriques chez Siemens" (in French). SNCB Presse. 16 January 2007. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "Belgian National Railway Company places €211M order with Siemens for 60 locomotives". Siemens Transportation Systems. 18 January 2007.
- ^ "SNCB orders 60 locomotives with Siemens". Infrasite News. 18 January 2007. Archived from the original on 23 July 2011.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "NMBS koopt nieuwe treinen en locomotieven" (in Dutch). De Standaard. 5 December 2008.
- ^ SNBC HLE 18-19 (www.railcolor.net), purpose
- ^ ""Taurus" pro belgické dráhy bude testován ve Velimi" (in Czech). ŽelPage. Retrieved 2008-12-16.
- ^ "Nieuwe locomotieven NMBS klaar voor testfase" (in Dutch). De Morgen. 4 March 2009.
- ^ "45 nouvelles locomotives de la SNCB inutilisables" (in French). La Dernière Heure. 12 March 2010.
- ^ Amende salée pour Siemens (in French), La Libre, 2 April 2011
- ^ "Locomotives passed homologation", www.europeanrailwayreview.com, 7 November 2011
Sources
- "SNCB HLE 18-19", www.railcolor.net
- "Locomotieven type 18 goed onthaald" (PDF), Time to B (in Dutch), SNCB: 18, 14 December 2011
External links
- De Neef, David (1 April 2007), "Locomotives de la série 18", www.belrail.be (in French)
