FS Class E464

FS class E.464
An E.464 with the new livery
Type and origin Power type Electric Builder Bombardier Build date 1999 - 2015
Specifications Configuration: ​  • UIC Bo-Bo Gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge Wheel diameter 1.250 m (49.21 in) Wheelbase 7.540 m (24 ft 8 7⁄8 in) between bogies 2.650 m (104.33 in) between axles in each bogie Length 15.750 m (51 ft 8 1⁄8 in) Width 3.000 m (9 ft 10 1⁄8 in) Height 4.100 m (13 ft 5 3⁄8 in) Loco weight 72 t (71 long tons; 79 short tons) Electric system(s) 3,000 V DC Traction motors Three-phase asynchronous Transmission 27/55 and 26/64 gear ratios
Performance figures Maximum speed 160 km/h (99 mph) Power output 3.5 MW (4,700 hp) Tractive effort 200 kN (45,000 lbf) Starting 135 kN (30,000 lbf) Cont. @80 km/h (50 mph)
Career Operators FS Trenitalia, TiLo, Ferrovie Emilia Romagna, Trenord Number in class 728 First run 1999 Disposition 727 locos in service, 1 withdrawn

The E.464 is a class of Italian railways electric locomotives. They were introduced in the course of the 1990s for hauling light trains, especially for commuter service. They were acquired by FS Trenitalia to replace the old E.424 and E.646, dating from the 1940s and 1950s. The class was originally designed by ABB Trazione, later ADTranz (now part of the Bombardier group), and produced in the Italian plant of Vado Ligure.

Cost per unit is 2.6 million Euro. With 717 locomotives currently in service (as of December 2015) the E.464 is the largest class in use by Trenitalia, and also the most numerous Italian locomotive class ever in service.

The E.464 derives from a project launched by the Italian Ferrovie dello Stato in the 1980s for a "modular" class of locomotives which would be easily adapted to commuter, inter-regional and cargo services. Initially, types with 4-axle (Bo-Bo, E.453/E.454) and 6-axle (Bo-Bo-Bo, E.665/E.666) were devised, the latter for cargo services. However, the E.666 class was cancelled due to availability of the new E.652 Tigre class, capable of hauling massive cargo trains. Moreover, the new inverter technology was developed in those years, and the E.454 became suddenly obsolete.

In 1994 FS requested ABB to design a new class which, to save money, was to be based on already built prototypes and using parts from the new E.412 from the same producer. The first batch of 50 E.464 was issued to the Lazio regional government in 1999-2000, and proved immediately successful. Further orders for 90, 100 and 48 units followed in 2001-2005, plus another 100 in 2006-2007, another 100 in 2009, another 50 in 2011,and, finally, another order of 29 locomotives on November 2013: a total of 717 locomotives, and an investment of over one billion Euro.