Swiss railway news – Page 13
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NewsBLS opens Rosshäuser Tunnel
SWITZERLAND: BLS celebrated the completion of the Rosshäuser Tunnel on the Bern – Neuchâtel line on August 25, ahead of the planned start of regular services on September 3. The 1 910 m long single bore tunnel with two tracks on a new 2·4 km alignment will replace a winding ...
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NewsFV-Dosto dining car unveiled
SWITZERLAND: Swiss Federal Railways unveiled the first dining car for its new FV-Dosto double-deck EMUs in Zürich on August 21. The upper deck dining saloon presents what SBB describes as a bright, modern ambience with excellent views. SBB believes that on train dining is ‘a trump card’ which gives ...
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NewsSBB challenges long-distance concession split
SWITZERLAND: Insisting that ‘legal clarification is necessary’, on July 16 Swiss Federal Railways lodged a formal challenge with the Federal Administrative Court against the decision to split the concession to operate long-distance passenger services. According to SBB, the decision by the Federal Office of Transport to award two inter-regional ...
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NewsStadler starts work on new factory
SWITZERLAND: A groundbreaking ceremony launched construction of Stadler’s new assembly plant at St Margrethen in the northeast corner of Switzerland on July 4. The SFr86m facility will be used to assemble Kiss double-deck trainsets, replacing a former aircraft factory in nearby Altenrhein which is no longer suitable for the task. ...
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NewsUsing onboard telematics units to identify wheel flats
SWITZERLAND: A project to use wagons’ onboard telematics units to provide an early warning of wheel flats has been undertaken by leasing company Wascosa and Savvy Telematic Systems, with the support of the Federal Office for the Environment which is seeking to reduce train noise. Savvy has developed an algorithm ...
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NewsAlstom ETCS for SBB Pendolinos
SWITZERLAND: Swiss Federal Railways has awarded Alstom a €16m contract to upgrade the train control systems on its 19 ETR610 trainsets with its Atlas ETCS Level 2 Baseline 3 technology, with the Swiss national train control system being a specific transmission module. This forms part of a wider ongoing ...
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NewsStadler enters the signalling market
STADLER: Consolidation in the supply sector including the planned Siemens-Alstom merger and CRRC’s expansion has spurred Stadler to develop its own signalling and automation systems. The Swiss group wants to avoid the need to purchase important components from its competitors in the rolling stock market, and also sees an opportunity ...
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NewsSwiss long-distance concession split confirmed
SWITZERLAND: The Federal Office for Transport announced on June 12 its final decision to split the concession to operate long-distance passenger services from the December 2019 timetable change. Most routes and the whole of the inter-city network will be run by incumbent SBB, but BLS will operate Interregio services on ...
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NewsSüdostbahn unveils Traverso EMU
SWITZERLAND: The first of 11 electric multiple-units which Stadler is to supply to Südostbahn for Voralpen-Express services was unveiled in Erlen on June 6. Part of the Flirt family, the six eight-car and five four-car 160 km/h units will feature a new motor bogie design and lightweight trailer bogies ...
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NewsMinisters urge that Rastatt lessons are learnt
EUROPE: Transport ministers have issued a Declaration calling for rapid implementation of measures to mitigate the effects of a major incident such as the seven-week closure last August of the Rhein Valley main line between Basel and Karlsruhe in Germany following a tunnel collapse beneath the alignment at Rastatt. The ...
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NewsSBB and Trenitalia to step up cross-border services
EUROPE: Swiss and Italian national operators SBB and Trenitalia signed an agreement on May 22 to increase the number of cross-border inter-city services. In an initial step the 2020 timetable will include an extra Basel – Milano service via Bern, giving four trains a day in each direction, with a ...
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NewsOperators oppose long-distance concession plans
SWITZERLAND: Regional operator BLS is contesting the plans announced in April by the Federal Office for Transport (BAV) for the 10-year concession to run long-distance passenger services from December 2019. Under the proposals national operator SBB would run all Intercity routes and most of the so-called Basic Network, but the ...
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NewsDigital guide to the Bernina Express
SWITZERLAND: Following a successful launch in first class, from May 10 Rhätische Bahn is making its Infot(r)ainment digital route guide available to all Bernina Express passengers. Accessible on smartphones, tablets or laptops, Infot(r)ainment provides information and interactive maps covering the route from Chur and Davos to St Moritz and Tirano. ...
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NewsHigh speed services from London to Bordeaux, Frankfurt and Genève under discussion
EUROPE: ‘Advanced planning’ is being undertaken to facilitate the possible launch of a direct London – Bordeaux high speed rail service, HS1 Ltd confirmed on April 30. The manager of the high speed line between London and the Channel Tunnel also confirmed it was in very early stage discussions for ...
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NewsSwissrail predicts hectic activity at InnoTrans 2018
SWISSRAIL: Switzerland’s rail industry association Swissrail will bring together 46 of its more than 100 member companies on more than 1 000 m2 of display space spread across two stands in the Railway Technology and Railway Infrastructure areas of InnoTrans 2018. ‘We are expecting a record number of visitors and, ...
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NewsCompetition comes to Swiss long-distance network
SWITZERLAND: The Federal Office for Transport has decided to split the concession to operate long-distance passenger services on the national network, although Swiss Federal Railways will continue to be responsible for all but two routes. BAV announced on April 19 that it expects to award a concession to SBB to ...
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NewsPartners sought as SBB Cargo cuts back wagonload
SWITZERLAND: Discussions with investors and potential business partners are on the summer agenda for SBB Cargo Schweiz as it targets a return to break-even by 2020. Having achieved positive results in 2013, 2014 and 2016, SBB Cargo Schweiz ended 2017 with an operating loss of SFr37m as wagonload volumes fell ...
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NewsRhätische Bahn replaces ticket machines
SWITZERLAND: Scheidt & Bachmann is supplying Rhätische Bahn with 97 replacement ticket vending machines offering similar functionality to those used by Swiss Federal Railways. Passengers can select German, French, Italian and English language options. The TVMs can provide bank notes as well as coins in change for cash payments, and ...
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NewsAppenzeller Bahnen takes deliveries of EMU and LRV
SWITZERLAND: Metre-gauge operator Appenzeller Bahnen recently took delivery of two vehicles ordered as part of the St Gallen Durchmesserlinie project. On March 27 Appenzeller Bahnen took delivery of the first of five ABe4/12 electric multiple-units ordered from Stadler for SFr40m in 2016. This is due to enter revenue service ...
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NewsMOB orders dual-gauge Golden Pass fleet
SWITZERLAND: Montreux-Oberland Bahn has ordered a fleet of 20 gauge-changing coaches to operate through services between Montreux and Interlaken. To be marketed as GoldenPass Express, the service is due to be launched by MOB and its partner BLS from the timetable change in December 2020. To be built by Stadler, ...