AT GLANCE

Vianova, a large-scale locomotive procurement programme

Vianova is a major locomotive procurement programme involving a total of 91 locomotives (56 BR189, 24 BR182, 11 BR185), equivalent to over 10% of the current Akiem fleet. Since May 2022, it has required intensive cooperation between Locomotive leasing and Maintenance & Services teams in Paris, Krefeld, Kassel, Warsaw and Budapest. It’s hard to think of a more international project! Akiem is acquiring a significant number of BR189s (EuroSprinter, Siemens) as well as BR185s (Traxx, Alstom) and BR182s (EuroSprinter, Siemens), 13 to 18 years old on average. This purchase further diversifies our fleet and will underpin development of our business in northern, central and south-eastern Europe. The first locomotives, batch B, were delivered in June 2022, with batch A following in January 2023 and the remaining deliveries spread over the rest of the year. The current situation is that 42 locomotives have already been delivered to customers. Maintenance work on the BR189 units, carried out for the first time by our Maintenance & Services teams, presented a few technical and equipment challenges, mostly in the spare parts supply chain. Some delivery dates have slipped compared to the original timetable, but these early problems will soon be behind us. This is in large part thanks to a €1.7-million contract for spare parts signed at the end of June, covering major components, obsolete parts that are no longer manufactured and parts with the longest delivery lead times.

 

Hector Rail contract renewed

A partnership that has already been in place for over 15 years has been extended for at least another 5 years. After an initial Full Service maintenance contract with Hector Rail, our number one customer in Sweden, Akiem signed a new 5-year contract in January this year with an option to extend, covering 12 TRAXX BR185.2s, 26 Vectron E193s (B99, B25 and B97) and 2 BR189s. Preventive and corrective maintenance operations on Hector Rail’s fleet of 42 electric locomotives  will be carried out by Akiem teams at workshops in Krefeld in Germany, Hallsberg, Borlänge, Malmö, Göteborg, Hagalund, Ånge and Luleå in Sweden, and Kongsvinger and Oslo in Norway. This win-win partnership consolidates our position throughout Scandinavia.

 

ISO 45001 wrapped up at Krefeld and Kassel

ISO 45001 is the international standard developed to help organisations improve safety for their employees. The aim is to proactively generate lasting reductions in workplace risks, creating better working conditions that are safer for all employees. At our Krefeld and Kassel sites, work on the process began in December 2021 and both sites were successfully certified at the start of June 2022. The next target is to roll out the process to every Akiem site by 2025. Congratulations to all teams for their ongoing work to deliver these improvements.

 

Vectron, delivery of the first batch of locomotives

Akiem has ordered 100 Vectron locomotives from Siemens Mobility over the past three years:

  • 20 at the end of 2021;
  • a further 65 in August 2022;
  • and 15 more in July 2023.

At the time of writing, 12 locomotives have already been delivered, several weeks ahead of schedule. Deliveries of the remaining locomotives will take place in batches until February 2029. The various configurations ordered will ramp up our presence across various European corridors and, an Akiem-first, in Scandinavia! The start of a long story.