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Hungarian State Railways MÁV is testing a French locomotive, reports Világgazdaság. In its statement, the group pointed out that as part of the five-point transport action plan announced at the end of the summer, it is continuously working on the rental and commissioning service of good quality second-hand rolling stock as a short-term, temporary solution in parallel with the preparation for the acquisition of new rolling stock.
As with the Siemens Eurosprinter locomotives leased from AKIEM last autumn, the fleet of MÁV could be expanded with additional second-hand vehicles. The newly tested locomotive was not used in public service, but in a test run without passengers.
The contract can be concluded after a successful test period for a total of 27 locomotives (15 immediately and 12 optionally).
The Astride locomotives, manufactured by the French company Alstom, are capable of operating on the national 25 kV overhead line network and can run at speeds of up to 160 km/h. The type of locomotive under test was previously operated by the French national railway company (SNCF, Société nationale des chemins de fer français) and was taken over from them by the rail leasing company AKIEM.
The vehicles need to be equipped with safety and driving support systems and are expected to be gradually introduced on the Hungarian railways from the beginning of next year,
thus increasing their operational readiness and thus the regularity of the timetable.
On Tuesday, a successful test run was carried out with high energy InterCity and night coaches between Budapest and Hatvan (northern Hungary). The next milestone will be the passenger tests after the vehicles have been properly prepared. The MÁV-VOLÁN group will only put the locomotives into service if the testing is successful and proves that the locomotives can be operated safely and with high availability, and that they comply with all official and traffic safety regulations.
If this were to happen, the locomotives would be partly used to replace the outdated MÁV Class V43 units with a maximum speed of 120 km/h, if an agreement for their entry into service is reached. MÁV stressed they plan to use them for a few years, until the arrival of new high-capacity, modern electric locomotives with ETCS (European Train Control System).
Via Világgazdaság; Featured image via Facebook/MÁV
