Test drives of the Chinese Sirius train on the Slovak Rail Network

The electric train 665.002, manufactured by the Chinese company CRRC and known as Sirius, was delivered to Bratislava for compatibility testing with the ŽSR network and the ETCS system

This information was reported by the railway magazine Railway Supply, citing kurier-kolejowy.

On Thursday, May 25, 2023, it performed its first test run on the Bratislava main station – Dubnica nad Váhom route and back, operating as Železničná spoločnosť Slovensko’s Sv 350001 and Sv 35000 carrier trains.

Three of these trains were ordered in 2016 by the Czech private carrier Leo Express from the Chinese manufacturer CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive.

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The carrier had an option for thirty units. The first train was delivered to the Czech Republic in October 2019 and appeared at the VÚZ Velim test track. However, the homologation process for the vehicle was delayed due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, when Chinese technicians couldn’t work in the Czech Republic.

In September 2021, the Spanish state railway Renfe and train manufacturer CAF invested in the Czech carrier, and in April 2022, Leo Express terminated the contract to purchase trains from the Chinese manufacturer.

All trains are still in the testing phase, and the process of obtaining approval for their operation is ongoing.

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In November 2022, Czech media reported that due to delays in the delivery of Alstom Traxx3 MS locomotives, the Czech carrier RegioJet decided to negotiate with the Chinese manufacturer for the development of a new interoperable European locomotive, and that RegioJet was supposed to assist CRRC in obtaining approval for the Sirius locomotives in the European market.

However, no such agreement has been reached so far, and the fate of the trains is currently uncertain.

The 665 train has a length of 111.2 meters, a maximum speed of 160 km/h, and can operate under 3 kV DC and 25 kV AC power supply. The maximum capacity is 300 passengers.

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