Railfreight operator Crossrail Benelux is to equip a part of its fleet of Class 66 locomotives with ETCS equipment. According to Dutch website Spoorpro.nl, the Belgium-based operator has received a subsidy from the European Commission for the installation of the system in ten of its locomotives. The subsidy will enable the installation of ETCS 2.3.0d and the certification process to get the locomotives approved for Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands again. Additionally, three of the machines will receive the hardware for Baseline 3 to allow for future upgrades of the system.
Currently, the first locomotive(s) is/are being equipped with ETCS equipment. To replace units that are being modified, Crossrail Benelux has hired unit PB 08 from Ascendos Rail Leasing.
