163 / EU11II
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162 006-1, photographed at the Liptovsky Mikulaš
station on April 11, 2007.
Slovakian 163 134-8, photographed at the same location on April 16,
2009.
Another picture taken on this occasion: 163 058-1.
Tired-looking Czech 363
028-2, Petrovice, March 9, 2010. Externally this
type is almost identical with 163.
163 034-2, ČD, photographed at the Jaromeř station on June 14, 2008.
163 048-2, still in ČD service; Wrocław Główny station,
February 17, 2010. This locomotive has already been given the individual name
‘Jadwiga’.
‘Jadwiga’ again – this
time at the Warszawa Wschodnia station with a train
to Praha. April 6, 2011.
163
064-9, ČD, Bohumin,
April 27, 2009.
362 12204, photographed
on the same occasion.
Liptovsky Mikulaš again: 362 010-1, April 12, 2012.
163 059-9, Photographed
on the same occasion.
Czech 163 047-4 (or
‘Basia’, if you prefer), photographed in Zwardoń on April 18, 2009.
163 030-0
‘Agata’ (formally EU11-405), Warszawa Wschodnia station, December 13, 2012.
‘Agata’ again, the same
location, October 9, 2014.
Formally numbered
EU11-414, this 163 046-6, or ‘Kasia’, was
photographed at the Warszawa Wschodnia station on
September 3, 2013.
163 026-8 (EU11-403) aka
‘Gabrysia’, displays both ČD and Przewozy Regionalne logos; Warszawa Wschodnia
station, September 26, 2013. Photo by Chris West (thanks for permission!).
163 034-2 (or
EU11-406) ‘Helena’, photographed at the Warszawa Wschodnia
station on July 16, 2014.
163 021-9 (or
EU11-401) ‘Małgosia’, photographed on the same
occasion.
163 029-2 ‘Beata’
(formally EU11-404), Warszawa Wschodnia station,
September 25, 2014.
163 022-7 ‘Ela’
(EU11-402), photographed on the same occasion.
163 040-9 ‘Edyta’
(EU11-408), the same location, October 28, 2014.
Warszawa
Wschodnia again: 163 041-7 ‘Kamila’
(EU11-409), March 25, 2015. |
In 2001 Polish state railways PKP were split into several companies, one of them being PKP Przewozy Regionalne (literally ‘regional traffic’). The PKP acronym was soon deleted from the company’s name. ‘New’ operator took over mainly obsolescent EN57 EMUs, later supplemented by a number of modern units from Stadler (class EN75) and PESA (classes ED59, EN77, EN81 and EN96). At an early stage it was decided to extend the scope of services and include also long-range traffic; this in fact involved direct competition with PKP InterCity. For this purpose, Przewozy Regionalne initially hired several EU07s and ET22s, but their number was far from sufficient. Hence a decision was taken to hire class 163 universal locomotives from Czech railways ČD – initially ten units, later increased to sixteen, plus one kept as a reserve. First was assigned to the Toruń depot in August 2012 and immediately found much favor with crews, being praised for comfort and modern equipment. Delivery was completed in October 2012 and Czech locomotives were to remain with Przewozy Regionalne until mid-2016. However, due to long-range traffic reduction and acquisition of several surplus EU07s and EP07s, lease period was shortened and last 163s were returned in September 2015. Class 163 universal electric locomotive was developed by Škoda (factory type 71E, initial service designation E 499.3) on the basis of earlier two-system class 363 (3 kV DC, 25 kV/50 Hz), of which 181 were built between 1980 and 1990. Externally almost identical, this locomotive operates at 3 kV DC only; maximum speed remained unchanged, at 120 km/h. First batch of sixty examples was delivered to ČSD between 1984 and 1986. Second batch, also of sixty locomotives (factory type 99E, differing mainly in control systems), was built between 1991 and 1992, but due to finacial problems experienced by the state railways and disintegration of Czechoslovakia they remained at the Škoda premises for a couple of years. In 1995 Italian operator Ferrovia Nord Milano Esercizio S.p.A. (FNME, now Trenord) purchased nine examples; classed E630, they were sold to Czech Brno-based RegioJet private operator in 2010. In 1995 Slovakian railways ŽSR (now ŽSSK) finally took delivery of eleven examples and Czech ČD of the remaining forty. Mention has to be made also of class 162, which is basically class 163 with changed reduction gear ratio (3.04 instead of 3.52) and other minor modifications; maximum speed was increased to 140 km/h and sixty examples were built in 1991. Class 362 was the analogous modification of 363. Only one example was built in 1990, but later 29 363s were upgraded to this standard and duly redesignated. Class 263 – basically single-system (25 kV/50Hz) version of 363, was built in twelve examples, last being delivered in 1988. Between 1993 and 2002, 28 162s (for ŽSSK and ČD, fourteen examples each) were fitted with class 363 bogies and also included in class 163, which thus formally numbers 148 examples. All these – externally very similar – machines, nicknamed ‘Peršing’, currently comprise the most numerous electric locomotive type in Czech Republic and Slovakia, used mainly with passenger and express trains. They make a very favorable comparison with their Polish counterpart, EU07/EP07, being substantially more modern and powerful. In the Przewozy Regionalne fleet they were classed EU11 and numbered 401 through 416, although these numbers were assigned only formally. This class designation was used for the second time, but ‘first’ EU11, built by AdTranz Pafawag, never saw service with PKP, all 42 examples being eventually sold to Italy. Before their acqusition by Przewozy Regionalne, 163s in the ČD livery often hauled international passenger trains between Prague and Warsaw. This class is also distinguished by the fact that all sixteen locomotives were given individual female names – hitherto a rare practice in Poland. Main
technical data
1)
Excluding conversions. 2)
Including 28 conversions between 1993 and 2002. References and
acknowledgments
-
MAL, AV; -
SK, various issues; -
www.kolejowaklatka.org (website
by Marek Dąbrowski); |
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