E189 / EU45
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Prototype ES64P 001, photographed in Ingolstadt on July 28, 2006.
Photo by Sebastian Terfloth, source: www.commons.wikimedia.org.
Four pictures, taken on one day, April 29, 2010. E189 455 (Siemens 21507/2009) from the PKP
Przewozy Regionalne fleet, Warszawa Wschodnia station…
...E189 153 (Siemens 21643/2010), one
of five ‘EuroSprinters’ leased by PKP InterCity, departing from this
station…
…E189 454 (Siemens 21504/2009),
another one from PKP Przewozy Regionalne, waiting at the station’s
entry…
…and yet another one, E189 458 (Siemens
21516/2009), at the Olszynka Grochowska depot.
ES64F4-454 was transferred to Lotos Kolej
in August 2010; this photo was taken in Zduńska Wola Karsznice on August 30,
2010.
E189 453, photographed at the same location on
September 7, 2011. This locomotive, which had served with Przewozy
Regionalne, was later leased to Freightliner PL,
but currently is used by Lotos Kolej. Pretty
complicated.
Another picture of the E189 453, taken in Dęblin on
July 19, 2013. According to latest info, this locomotive finally ended up
with DB
Schenker Rail Polska.
Yet another locomotive with similar history: E189
457, photographed in Zduńska Wola Karsznice on September 9, 2011.
E189 453 again, this time photographed in Koluszki
on October 4, 2013.
ES64F4-804, owned by MRCE
Dispolok. Between January 2012 and
March 2016 this locomotive was leased to PKP
Cargo; later it was returned and served with several private
railways. In April 2022 it was leased to LTG
Cargo Polska, but
displays no logo or service number. Warszawa Olszynka
Grochowska depot, October 27, 2022.
189 003, DB,
with a freight train, Photographed in Pilawa on
August 1, 2024.
E189-455 again. Originally delivered to MRCE Dispolok and
leased to PKP Przewozy Regionalne, this locomotive changed hands
several times. Sold to Akiem
in 2023, it has been leased to Ost-West Logistic Poland. Warszawa Praga
station, December 12,2024. |
In August 2008 PKP
InterCity decided to purchase modern electric locomotives for their most
prestigious express trains. The choice fell on type ES64U4 from Siemens,
known under commercial names ‘EuroSprinter’ and ‘Taurus’. These locomotives were,
however, preceded on Polish tracks by their earlier variant, type ES64F4. The
letter ‘F’ indicates that they are intended basically for freight traffic,
but have sometimes been used also with passenger trains. The
prototype of the entire ‘EuroSprinter’ family from Siemens, designated
ES64P (‘P’ for prototype), appeared in 1992. It was accepted by Deutsche Bahn and numbered
127 001; on August 6, 1993, this locomotive set up world’s speed record
for AC electric locomotives, attaining 310 km/h. In 2002 it was transferred
to Dispolok (a leasing company
wholly owned by Siemens, sold to Mitsui Rail Capital Europe in
September 2006) and in 2009 to Siemens
test center Prüfcenter
Wegberg-Widenrath. Production started in 1996 and first orders were for
freight versions ES64F (15 kV, 16 2/3 Hz – 170 examples for DB, class
152) and ES64F4 (four-system – 100 examples for DB, class 189, and
twelve for SBB, class Re474). The last digit in type designations
indicates the number of voltage systems. These locomotives were also built
for Dispolok, as well as for
Italian operator Del Fungo Giera (four examples, classed E 474, in
2007) and Swedish Hector Rail (two, class 441, in 2005). ES64F4 served
as a basis for several other types, which include: -
class 120 for Greek state railways OSE
(thirty, built between 1996 and 2001, known as ‘HellasSprinters’, rated power
5 000 kW, 200 km/h, more streamlined body but different from that of ES64U); -
LE 4700 for Portuguese railways CP
(twenty-five, delivered between 2007 and 2009, 4 600 kW, 140 km/h) -
Class 8100 (two assembled by Daewoo in 1998)
and Class 8200 (83 locomotives assembled by Hyundai Rotem between 2002
and 2008) for Korail, rated power 5
200 kW, 150 kh/h. Further
developments of the basic ‘EuroSprinter’ concept include six-axle (Co’Co’) EG
2100 for Denmark and HXD1B for China, as well as Chinese twin locomotives DJ1
and HXD1 (aka DJ4), both built in considerable numbers at Zhuzhou Electric
Locomotive Works in co-operation with Siemens. ‘EuroSprinter’ was
superseded on Siemens production
lines by the ‘Vectron’ family, first presented in 2010. First
E189 (type ES64F4) from MRCE Dispolok appeared in Poland in 2007:
E189-911 (s/n 20980/2004) was used by CTL Logistics and later
re-numbered E189-201. Two more followed soon, plus three for ITL Polska (one
returning to Dispolok in April 2010). PKP Przewozy Regionalne
leased nine ES64F4s in early 2010; they were returned after a few months’
service, all but one later being leased to ITL Polska, Lotos Kolej
or Freightliner PL. Finally, PKP InterCity leased five examples
in April 2010 from Mitsui, pending the arrival of their ES64U4s. This
decision was forced by withdrawal of a large number of EP09s and acute
shortage of express locomotives; on the other hand, with the maximum speed of
just 140 km/h, this was in fact a stop-gap only. These locomotives – which,
due to their black liveries, were promptly nicknamed ‘Czarne Wdowy’ (black
widows) – were returned in July 2010 and later four were leased to PKP
Cargo, for use mainly with heavy freight trains between Poland and Italy.
Two were returned in late 2011, but another example was purchased by PKP
Cargo in October. Pretty complicated, but in the leasing era the question
of property is not as simple to answer as it used to be. In early 2012 PKP
Cargo leased six more ES64F4s from MRCE Dispolok, as a replacement
for their EU43s, which had been returned to Angel Trains after four
years of service. In May 2012 all nine E189s then operated by PKP Cargo were classed EU45, but
retained their service numbers. In some cases, a single locomotive might
sport three different designations (e.g. E189 152, EU45-152 and
ES64F4-152). Total
number of these locomotives in Poland is not easy to determine. All of them
have changed their operators (and sometimes designations) at least a few
times. Most are formally owned by MRCE
Dispolok. According to https://ilostan.forumkolejowe.pl,
27 locomotives of this type saw service with various Polish operators or Polish
divisions of foreign companies. Most of them have already been handed over to
various foreign operators. Currently (January 2019) two E189s owned by MRCE Dispolok are operated by ITL Polska (E189-206) and Logistic & Transport Company
(E189-458). Of eleven examples operated by PKP Cargo, ten have already been returned to MRCE Dispolok; the only one still in use is EU45-846, which is
the company’s property. Main
technical data
1)
Until March 2012. 2)
AC. 3)
3 kV DC. 4)
1.5 kV DC. 5)
January 2019. References and
acknowledgments
-
Monographic
article by Paweł Terczyński (SK vol. 1/2010); -
http://inforail.pl, www.railfaneurope.net,
www.drehstromloks.de, www.siemens.com/mobility; -
www.kolejowaklatka.org (website
by Marek Dąbrowski); -
Seweryn Dębski (private communication); -
SK (various issues); |
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