Exhibitor interview Vossloh Rolling Stock
Who are you and what is your role at Vossloh Rolling Stock?
My name is Jens van Laak, and I work as the Sales Manager at Vossloh Rolling Stock in Germany. My team and I sell and lease new, environmentally friendly locomotives to the Nordic countries.
What is Vossloh Rolling Stock, and what do you do?
Vossloh Rolling Stock is a German locomotive manufacturer that is a subsidiary of CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive Co., Ltd. in Zhuzhou, China (CRRC ZELC), which is a subsidiary of China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation Ltd., the world's largest rolling stock manufacturer.
Our locomotives are well-known in Scandinavia, and we manufacture locomotives for line traffic, shunting and switching, as well as construction and civil engineering operations. Our history combined with the strength and expertise of our owner is the key to producing high-quality, innovative, and reliable locomotives.
Why did Vossloh Rolling Stock decide to participate in Train & Rail?
We want to showcase our locomotives in Scandinavia and talk to interested customers about possible applications. Our state-of-the-art DE 18 locomotive is a diesel-electric center cab locomotive equipped with modern signaling systems.
The DE 18 is our most modern locomotive, where all electronics are state-of-the-art. It is a versatile, sustainable, reliable, and economical choice for any operation.
We will also talk about our upcoming modular hybrid locomotives. We see a desire and a great interest among customers and railway companies to have an individual and personal dialogue about what type of locomotive they need.
What is Vossloh Rolling Stock's goal for Train & Rail?
We see the fair as an opportunity to market and explain our modern locomotives. Our products are ideal for an ambitious and demanding market like Northern Europe. It would please us if we could convince as many visitors as possible of the many benefits of our locomotives.
What is the most important question for the future of the railway industry from your perspective? How do you address this issue today?
In the development of our locomotives, we have focused on cost-effective operation and environmental benefits. The railway industry is facing a demand for low or zero emissions in all areas. In addition, operating costs must continue to decrease. Our developers have been working on these challenges for many years.
Being the most environmentally friendly mode of transport means, among other things, that the railway industry must be innovative, and our products are more innovative than ever.
What do you wish for from your industry colleagues/decision-makers to be able to work even better to meet these challenges?
We must find solutions together, and I think the industry is already collaborating very well. But we also see that we still have many technical innovations ahead of us, such as digitalization. Here, we must work together as a sector. We should take advantage of opportunities together to present the railway as an attractive solution for future mobility.