The ES64U2 is a high-power universal locomotive that belongs to the EuroSprinter family and was developed by Siemens on the initiative of the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB). There it won a tender for a new high-power locomotive with three-phase technology and has been used since 2000 as classes 1016 and 1116. The type received the protected designation “Taurus” and replaced a large number of old locomotives in all train types within a short time. While the 1016 is only equipped for the power grid with 15,000 V and 16⅔ Hz, as is mainly used in German-speaking countries, the 1116 can also be used as a multi-system locomotive under 25,000 V and 50 Hz. Due to the frequency steps of the pulse inverter, the locomotive plays a distinctive major scale melody when starting.
The ES64U4 is a further development that is technically based on the freight locomotive ES64F4, but also runs 230 km/h or 143 mph and looks like the ES64U2. At ÖBB it became class 1216. As the weight had grown due to the technical equipment, a lighter transformer with an hourly output of only 6,400 kW and a continuous output of 6,000 kW was used. In addition to the two AC systems mentioned above, the locomotive can also be used with direct current at 1,500 and 3,000 V. Under 1,500 V, the power is limited to a maximum of 4,200 kW to reduce the amperage.
On September 2, 2006, the later ÖBB 1216 025 reached 357 km/h or 222 mph on the Nuremberg-Ingolstadt high-speed line, making it the fastest locomotive in the world and breaking the record set by the SNCF BB 9004 in 1955. Apart from an increase in the overhead voltage and the dismantling of a few obstructive small parts on the locomotive, no special adjustments were made.
The most important user of the Taurus is the ÖBB, which uses the ckasses 1016, 1116 and 1216 under the trademarks “Taurus I”, “Taurus II” and “Taurus III”. They now make up almost 50% of the ÖBB locomotive park and are used equally in passenger and freight transport. The flagship is the Railjet, which at 230 km/h is one of the fastest locomotive-hauled trains in the world and consists of six trailers and one driving trailer, which are operationally permanently connected and are pulled or pushed by a Taurus. The ÖBB Taurus often reach Germany with the Railjet. After the night trains were discontinued by Deutsche Bahn, ÖBB Nightjets are also used in Germany. Freight trains with a Taurus as the motive power can also often be seen here.
Deutsche Bahn only uses 26 ES64U2 as class 182, which are used more in freight traffic. In addition to the 101, they also cover the 160 km/h (99 mph) Parcel Intercity. They were also used in regional traffic to achieve better acceleration and, if necessary, to achieve travel times comparable to multiple units. Due to the delayed delivery of the Talent 2, it was necessary to run some trains on the Central German S-Bahn with locomotive-hauled trains. Furthermore, the two series of Taurus are used by several private and state operators in Slovakia, Austria, Germany, Italy, Poland and Hungary. Cross-border, combined cargo transport is a main area of application for private operators.