The Prima H3 locomotives will increase the number of own its shunting locomotives by two to five, and will be the first time a hybrid locomotive will be used for heavy-duty shunting on a permanent basis.
Roger Mahler, managing director of Metrans Rail (Deutschland) GmbH, said: “The two Prima H3 shunting locomotives will help us to cope with the increasing shunting volumes at the Port of Hamburg.”
He added: “We are pleased by the locomotives’ high performance and environmental friendliness, which we will be able to make use of in our shunting collaboration with other rail operators at the port. This makes the Port of Hamburg, the largest rail port in Europe, even more efficient.”
Metrans acquired the first of two hybrid shunting locomotives from Alstom, with the second due to be delivered in the second half of the year.
The Prima H3’s hybrid engine produces up to 50% less CO2, while other harmful substances can be reduced by up to 70%.
They can, assignment dependent, also run on battery power from 50 to 70% of the time that they are in operation.
Jan Hendrik Pietsch, sustainability officer of Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG, concluded: “Sustainable business practices are very highly valued by Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG. The two new hybrid shunting locomotives fit into the packet of measures that we have put together and help us to fulfil the obligations that arise from it extremely well.”
“In 2008, we set ourselves the ambitious goal of reducing CO2 emissions by 30% per handled container by the year 2020, and we managed to almost completely hit that target last year by achieving a 29.5% reduction.”