Sbb Cargo International has put into service the first four Siemens Vectron Dachinl XLoad locomotives, which form part of the second batch of a 20-unit order signed with Siemens Mobility in July 2024. The new locomotives are authorised to operate in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy and the Netherlands, in the configuration known in the industry as Dachinl, strengthening the ability to operate freight trains without changing locomotives along the Rhine-Alpine corridor, from the North Sea ports to the main terminals in northern Italy. Sbb Cargo International has long used multi-system Vectron Dachinl locomotives on the same route. The innovation lies in the XLoad package, which acts on wheel-rail adhesion to increase the available traction power and therefore the load that can be hauled by a single four-axle locomotive.
The order from which the four units come is the second placed by Sbb Cargo International for locomotives equipped with XLoad. The first, covering 20 locomotives, dates back to 2022, with deliveries starting in 2024. Once all deliveries have been completed, the two orders will bring the operator’s Vectron fleet to a total of 78 units. The XLoad package is used mainly on the Swiss north-south route. "For us, Vectron is the ideal locomotive for providing an interoperable service between the Netherlands and Italy. The XLoad package will allow us to run longer and heavier trains in single traction through the Alps, eliminating the need for a more expensive six-axle locomotive," said Sven Flore, chief executive of Sbb Cargo International.
The locomotives have a maximum speed of 160 kilometres per hour and are equipped with the European train control system, in the Level 2 Baseline 3 version, as well as the national protection systems required on each of the networks they cross. Maintenance of the entire fleet has been entrusted to Siemens Mobility for 15 years, with operations based at the Rail Service Center in Novara. Pierfrancesco De Rossi, chief executive of Siemens Mobility Italia, described the Novara hub as crucial for the logistical support of transalpine rail operations. The fleet expansion comes alongside another move by the operator towards greater direct control of its own routes: from June 2026, Sbb Cargo International transferred production of the Novatrans Noisy-le-Sec–Novara service to its subsidiary Sbb Cargo France, and has since managed traction on the French section directly from its operations centre in Olten.
