Siemens Mobility and SNCB join forces to maintain Vectron locomotives at the port of Antwerp

The partnership will allow Siemens Mobility to offer not only mobile interventions but also scheduled inspections and corrective maintenance. The technicians from Siemens Mobility are able to locate faults and defects faster than ever before by using the Fleet Monitoring 5 app that runs on the market leaders’ digital platform Railigent X. With the app, they can monitor the status of all Vectron locomotives remotely and thus anticipate the situation quicker, before the locomotive even arrives. Maintenance will be optimally scheduled and also carried out more efficiently because spare parts can be delivered in good time. As a result, the reliability of the locomotives will be improved, as will availability, and service delays and maintenance costs will be reduced to a minimum.

The strategic location of the workshop is a major trump card. Antwerp Traction Workshop is centrally located in the sorting sidings of Antwerp-North, the epicenter of European rail traffic at the port of Antwerp, the second largest gateway to Europe. To make rail freight transport as efficient as possible, it is vital to keep the downtime of locomotives to a minimum. By anchoring these maintenance services locally, Siemens Mobility together with SNCB will be able to offer an attractive and sustainable alternative for railway operators. In the past, their Vectron locomotives had to be maintained at a workshop abroad which was extremely time-consuming, expensive and detrimental to the environment due to the unnecessary emissions. Now they can go to the local Antwerp Traction Workshop while the freight wagons travel the last mile.

By optimizing the maintenance of Vectron locomotives at the Antwerp Traction Workshop locally, the partnership will promote the use of the rail network in general and the port of Antwerp as a destination for railway operators in particular. "By combining our expertise and experience with the infrastructure and knowledge of SNCB, we can help railway operators optimize the deployment of their fleet. By doing that, we can promote the growth of rail traffic together and make the port of Antwerp more attractive for freight transport. The federal government is aiming to double the share of rail freight transport from 15% to 30% by 2030. The port is aiming to do the same. This partnership will help make that possible,” says Caby.

"Transporting freight by rail is a far more environmentally-friendly alternative than transport by road. Not only does Siemens Mobility contribute towards this through the production of Vectron locomotives, we are also striving to make maintenance increasingly sustainable. Antwerp Traction Workshop is now a new location within the wider international network of Siemens Mobility for approved maintenance of Vectron locomotives and therefore will contribute towards this. So we are extremely grateful to SNCB for the confidence that they have shown in us and we will be putting our best efforts into this partnership with high ambitions,” states Stefanie Carle, Manager Service Centers at Siemens Mobility HQ.

Nathalie Ressent, Senior Account Manager Third Party Maintenance Service confirms: "The fact that our workshop is located in Antwerp, in the middle of the port, will ensure reduced immobilization time for the maintenance of Vectron locomotives. The partnership with Siemens Mobility will make it possible to combine professionalism, expertise, the availability of spare parts and access to a fully equipped workshop."