German Siemens Eurorunner locomotives for the European market

The Siemens Eurorunner family includes a whole series of diesel-electric locomotives of both medium and high power. They were first introduced in 2002, which was immediately followed by mass production.


Their design draws on the positive experience of operating Eurosprinter electric locomotives, previously produced by the same company. To ensure increased reliability of the equipment, the creators had to resort to a modular type of design.


The machine is designed in such a way as to consist of the lowest possible number of components. An additional convenience is that the main components of the design, including the power drive and electronic components, are located in separate blocks. This made it possible, in case of failure, to quickly replace each of them autonomously.

A locomotive that quickly found its clients

For the development of any production, the most important factor is the availability of orders from serious clients. And here the German company was very lucky. After all, already at the beginning of their journey they received a solid application from OBB.



The initial positive experience led to the expansion of both the model line and the geography of supplies. Later, companies from countries such as the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia showed interest in cooperation with Siemens. But at first it looked like this:

✅ small orders from small railway companies
✅ six-axle versions ER20CF for Lithuanian roads
✅ more powerful ER30, which did not find its buyer for a long time

In addition to their modular design, the Siemens Eurorunner series electric locomotives have earned a good reputation for their very quiet engine operation. This led to the fact that small Austrian carriers also decided to acquire reliable medium-power locomotives. Some of them planned to use the equipment in the cargo industry, which required the company to carry out minor modernization:

✅ installation of smaller batteries
✅ increasing the volume of fuel tanks
✅ other small modifications

This approach has significantly expanded the range of supplies and deployment of the German universal electric locomotive. Which, in turn, resulted in the appearance of an exotic order from Hong Kong. For the Asian user, it was necessary to produce several modified units based on the Siemens Eurorunner. Five vehicles were delivered to KCRC (now MTRCL).

Further expansion of the geography of supplies of Siemens Eurorunner

The popularity of the model also grew in the field of open access passenger transportation. For example, ALEX's services in Southern Germany required reliable, modern technology with diesel-electric drive. It all started with the rental of several Siemens Eurorunner units through its subsidiary Dispolok.

Their successful operation led Angel Trains and CBRail to invest in ER20 machines, later using them in domestic passenger services. This made the brand available on the domestic market, which convinced several operators to purchase them for use in the cargo industry. Among them were:

✅ WLE
✅ Press
✅ EVB
✅ OHE

Having conquered the German-speaking market, the company moved its interests to the Eastern European region. After positive operating experience in neighboring countries and homologation of the model, the time has come for serious contracts with CTV (Romania) and Metrans (Czech Republic), concluded in 2010.

Still, the most reliable client with a long term of cooperation was Lithuanian LG. Even before the six-axle ER20 debuted as a prototype at the international railway exhibition InnoTrans 2006 in Berlin, there was a pre-order.


A year earlier, a Lithuanian user wished to receive ten units of such equipment. Later, the cooperation continued, taking the form of fixed deliveries. In parallel, a version of the LE4700 was produced for Portuguese railways.

In 2006, one of the largest agreements worth 450 million euros was signed between Siemens and Iran Islamic Republic Railways (RAI). According to its points, the Germans pledged to build 150 locomotives for high-speed transportation (mode up to 160 km/h).

The first thirty of them were collected in Munich. The rest, over the next six years, were built in Iran. This became possible thanks to the transfer of production technologies by the German side to its Iranian partner Iran Power Plant Projects Management.


An important milestone in the history of the line occurred on January 19, 2009. On that day, a contract was signed with a local carrier (also active in the neighboring Czech Republic). According to its terms, the assembly of Siemens Eurorunner, on the principles of outsourcing, was transferred to the Arriva workshops located in Neustrelitz, East Germany.

Technical features of Siemens Eurorunner and completion of production

We have already noted many times the demand for German diesel-electric locomotives among various clients. Perhaps it’s time to pay attention to their technical side and the advantages that caused such an invariably positive assessment among consumers.

Let's start with the fact that the manufacturer's marketing strategy placed one of the first places on energy-saving characteristics and technologies that minimize the emission of particulate matter. Therefore, its entire technical component was oriented in this direction.


So, at idle, half of the 16 cylinders could be turned off, which gave noticeable fuel savings and significantly reduced the level of harmful emissions into the atmosphere. In terms of power, the engines of different modifications had their own characteristics:

✅ ER20 – 2150-2350 l. With
✅ six-axle ER20CF – 3600-4700 l. With
✅ ER30 – 2700 l. With

We are talking about a 16-cylinder supercharged diesel engine of the MTU 4000 series, driving a three-phase brushless alternator. This, in turn, generates power (converted to direct current) for four asynchronous traction motors installed in parallel.

The power source for passenger trains, including heating, carriage lighting, etc., is additional. Therefore, it is located separately, under the main frame, while the rest of the electrical parts are mounted directly in the body.


Another interesting point is the ability of the electrodynamic brakes to charge the battery. Large capacitors are also fed in parallel. Thus, the energy absorbed when slowing down is not wasted, but can be used later. Let's also touch on the physical parameters and performance of the locomotive:

✅ length - 19,275 m
✅ width - 2,87 m
✅ weight – 80 (ER20 CF – 135,7) t
✅ fuel reserve – 2500-4000 (ER30 – 5000/7000, 20CF – 7000) l
✅ maximum speed – 140 (ER30 – 120/160, 20CF – 120) km/h

In 2011, the company delivered the final batch of production units to the conveyor. When Adria Transport acquired the last of the Siemens Eurorunners in 2012, their ten-year history could be considered complete. They made room in the assembly areas for their successor, the Vectron DE locomotive.