However, the platform also demonstrates that the Europe still has to go a very long way to become a unity on rails. European standards, like a European driver licence and the European train control system ERMTS, are in the making, but up till these systems are universal applied, each country still maintains its own systems and regulations, often contradicting. Signalling systems used in Austria and Switzerland interfere. Italy requires red painted cab fronts, Belgium yellow ones, the Netherlands wants white ones. Modern technique can solve many issues and open-up borders, but one locomotive can only have 4 pantographs max, carry a limited number of signalling systems and a driver also needs his rest. All factors that force operators to configure a locomotive only for a certain corridor and the countries it is crossing.

Configuring a locomotive for services is one, getting it homologated (getting safety and service approval of the locomotive from the national authorities) for several countries then still has to be done, being an expensive and time consuming process, often interfered by political powers and other economical arguments. The homologation process for Poland took more than 18 months for example. Nevertheless, Siemens is making progress, and the ES64F4 platform slowly conquers Europe. Maybe not incorporated in one single locomotive, but together, all ES64F4 platform configurations are coming quite close...

propulsion system

propulsion with nose suspended motors

traction converter

watercooled, IGBT-technology

number of axles

4

axle configuration

Bo'Bo'

weight

87 t

length over buffers

19.580 mm

power system / power rating

15kV 16 2/3 Hz AC / 6400 kW

Vmax

140 kph (160 kph)*

duration traction effort

290 kN

starting traction effort

300 kN