ŽOS Vrútky to deliver ETCS for ČD Cargo class 240 locomotives
The company's class 230 locomotives will not be fitted with the signaling system.
ČD Cargo has completed the last tender for the supply of the European Train Control System (ETCS) for its older locomotives. The controlling equipment for the class 240 locomotives will be supplied by ŽOS Vrútky.
The tender received bids from ČD-Telematika and ŽOS Vrútky. According to available information, ŽOS Vrútky will install Siemens technology in the locomotives. In the tender, ČD Cargo was looking for an ETCS supplier for the class 230 locomotives as well but decided not to equip these locomotives with the signaling system in the end.
A total of 29 class 240 locomotives will be equipped with the signaling system, with a final price tag of EUR 14.1 million. ČD Cargo plans to cover part of the cost with European subsidies from the CEF II fund. The company had hoped for a single prototype for both classes 230 and 240, but this is not possible.
With the introduction of ETCS, ČD Cargo will deploy its class 230 locomotives in countries where ETCS has not yet been introduced, said CEO Tomáš Tóth. To replace the class 230 locomotives, ČD Cargo plans to buy class 162, 163, and 242 locomotives from České dráhy for operation in the Czech Republic and to equip them with ETCS.
Edited and translated by Lucie Trávníčková