Passed on 21 April 2004, Directive 2004/26/EC amends Directive 97/68/EC to include ships, locomotives, and railcars. The directive outlines Stages IIIA, IIIB, and IV of emissions reduction standards. In the Directive, railcars and locomotives are defined as follows:
Railcars: Self-propelled, on-track vehicles that are designed to carry freight and/or passengers
Locomotives: Self-propelled, on-track vehicles that are designed to propel cars that carry freight and/or passengers, but are not intended to carry goods or passengers themselves.
Stage IIIA is effective (placed on the market) from 1 January 2006 for certain types of engines, Stage IIIB from 1 January 2011, and Stage IV from 1 January 2014. In the directive there is a flexibility scheme that allows manufacturers to place engines on the market that only fulfil the previous stage when a new stage is in force.
The directive 2004/26/EC is aligned with the US proposal Tier IV of further stages of emission limit values.
De aia nu prea a mers bine Vectron DE are norme prea stricte care au ridicat costurile și din ce am înțeles un Vectron DE are norme.mai mici de 6 ori față de un Hercules apărut în anii 2000