SERBIA: State passenger operator Srbijavoz has signed a EUR 35.35m contract with Siemens Mobility Austria for six Vectron multi-system electric locomotives, due for delivery in June and July 2027 for services to Budapest. They replace traction the operator’s acting director describes as more than 40 years old and neither reliable nor of good quality.
Acting director Ljubiša Pejičić and Matthias Hermann Koch, managing director of Siemens Mobility Austria, signed the contract in Belgrade on 18 August, seven weeks after Srbijavoz named Siemens as the winner on 26 June. The locomotives will be built at the Munich-Allach plant. The price excludes VAT and covers eight years of maintenance and driver training.
The order is part of a fleet renewal timed for EXPO 2027 in Belgrade, alongside the 30 commuter units ordered from CAF earlier this year. Srbijavoz had set a ceiling of RSD 4.69bn (around EUR 40m) for the six locomotives, and Siemens’ price came in below it. Industry reports name Alstom as the only other bidder.
A serial platform for a corridor into the EU
Andreas Palfi of Siemens Mobility Austria said more than 3,000 Vectrons have been built and around 2,000 are in operation. Srbijavoz has chosen the same multi-system version its EU neighbours run, which keeps the Budapest link on one traction type across the border.
Delivery falls in the months EXPO 2027 runs, from May to August. Whether the locomotives carry passengers during the exhibition depends on commissioning, for which no timetable has been given.