Mobility solution provider Bombardier Transportation has signed a contract with the Luxembourg based railway undertaking CFL cargo for ten innovative BOMBARDIER TRAXX MS(1) locomotives.  

The new locomotives represent a major leap towards the successful future of integrated rail freight transport in Europe as they will enable seamless cross-border transport from Central Europe to France. The locomotives will be authorized for service in Luxembourg, Germany, Poland, Austria, Belgium and France. A part of the ten new locomotives for CFL cargo will be equipped with the innovative Last Mile diesel concept that enables the TRAXX locomotive to operate in non electrified terminals and sites. 

“We are very pleased to be the first railway operator to expand its business offering with an optimized rail transport solution for the East-West European corridor. The new TRAXX multi-system locomotives will allow us to cross numerous borders as easily as a truck, thus providing our clients with a competitive transport solution that contributes to reaching the European New Green Deal objective of 30% of rail transport by 2030”, said Laurence Zenner, CEO of CFL cargo. 

“Together with our launch customer CFL cargo, we are proud to offer an innovative solution that opens new business opportunities for rail transport clients. Our TRAXX MS locomotive is Europe’s mostmodern locomotive and we are looking forward to support the expansion of East-West freight transport in Europe”, added Peter Ammann, Head of Global Business Development Locomotives, Bombardier Transportation. 

Bombardier has based the development of its next-generation TRAXX 3 locomotive on the proven successes of previous members of the TRAXX family. To date, more than 2,000 of these locomotives are operating in 20 countries, covering a combined distance of 300 million kilometres per year.  

CFL cargo is already operating in 6 countries in Europe and is specialized in international and crossborder traffics. Together with its sister company CFL multimodal, the railway operator addresses both the conventional and the intermodal market and enables to smoothly connect Luxembourg by rail to the major ports and economic centers in Europe. 

(1) MS stands for multi-system, an electric locomotive able to operate on AC and DC railway electrification systems – often needed for cross-border operation.