Over the top

SWITZERLAND: The first of 13 four-car EMUs being built jointly by Alstom and Bombardier for BLS local services on the original Lötschberg route was rolled out in May.

The silver and grey livery is enhanced with images of the Bern - Brig line to highlight the appeal to tourists of the route over the mountains, now partly superseded for freight and long-distance traffic by the base tunnel. Derived from the Nina design in service with BLS, the trainset is 62·7 m long and weighs 107 tonnes. It offers 28 first and 143 second class seats, and has top speed of 160 km/h.