McKey- Thanks for the pictures. It does seem that European locomotive orders are becoming increasingly freight-only with little passenger provisions as EMUs (unfortunatley) take over most of the passenger services. The 1144s were upgraded from 1044s less than a decade ago, IIRC, and so have a long career yet.
I am wondering if this is a massive expansion to attempt to compete with the DB expansion over Europe, hence the requirement for operating ability around Europe. (Even in places like some of the former Yugoslavian nations where I doubt they will ever see service). I think that OBB might have a state-owned corporation set up for this, similar to DB Schenker. I can't conclusively say that, but I have seen locomotives lettered for Rail Cargo Austria, etc.
Thank you also for the images, particularly the RTC EU43, which is quite dramatic. I see this as a continuation of the battle between legacy national operators and the new private ones over the unit train contracts the private operators have been succesful in picking up. To this American observer, the private operator situation in Europe always seems rather fluid, with operators primarily leasing locomotives from ELL, MRCE, RailPool and other lessors rather than purchasing other locomotives that could become a drag on finances if traffic drops. I usually follow Railcolor to try to keep somewhat up to date.
nfotis- B-B+B-B was apparently considered an option, and Railcolor drew up some artist impressions at
http://www.railcolor.net/index.php?nav=1405330&id=8137&action=dview
Also listed are specifications, which are a duplicate of those posted above.
P.S.- McKey, have you heard anything about the Softronic TransMontana testing in Sweden? Things have gone quiet there. Any information is greatly appreciated.