Swiss railway news – Page 16
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NewsBLS selects Stadler for its largest rolling stock order
SWITZERLAND: BLS has selected Stadler for the largest rolling stock order it has placed, a SFr650m contract covering the supply of 58 single-deck electric multiple-units in 2021-26. The order includes 30 EMUs for RegioExpress services and 28 for S-Bahn Bern routes. The 105 m long six-car 160 km/h Flirt units ...
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NewsSBB wants better co-operation with road transport
SWITZERLAND: Swiss Federal Railways and national road transport association Astag have joined forces to demand a more effective freight transport policy at national level and better co-operation between road and rail. At a press conference on April 7 in Basel at which both organisations pledged support for the planned Gateway ...
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NewsSBB launches Gotthard Panorama Express
SWITZERLAND: Swiss Federal Railways staged a preview trip for its seasonal Gotthard Panorama Express on April 8. Combining a 2 h 45 min cruise on a steamship on the Vierwaldstättersee with a rail journey over the famous Gotthard pass, the service is intended to stimulate tourist travel over the historic ...
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NewsStadler proposes move from Altenrhein to St Margrethen
SWITZERLAND: Rolling stock manufacturer Stadler confirmed on April 4 that it was evaluating options to replace its Altenrhein site with a new plant at nearby St Margrethen. The new facility would be optimised for the production of Kiss double-deck vehicles, unlike the current leased facility at Altenrhein, which Stadler said ...
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NewsSBB orders 14 EMUs for RER Vaud
SWITZERLAND: A SFr125m contract for Stadler Rail to supply 14 four-car Flirt electric multiple-units for use on the RER Vaud network centred on Lausanne was signed by Swiss Federal Railways on March 24. The EMUs are scheduled to be delivered by 2020. They will be 75 m long with 324 ...
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NewsLéman Express moves closer
EUROPE: During a ‘summit’ between the two railways held in Paris on March 9, SBB CEO Andreas Meyer and SNCF President Guillaume Pepy signed a co-operation agreement for the operation from December 2019 of the Léman Express network of cross-border regional and suburban services centred on Genève. Under the agreement, ...
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NewsNo holes in the plan as Swiss cheese reaches China by rail
INTERNATIONAL: Raclette cheese, fondue cheese, milk chocolate and prepared milk have been delivered in what operator Far East Land Bridge said was the first ever shipment of Swiss dairy products to China by rail. The goods travelled by rail from Duisburg in Germany to Chongqing in China via the Trans-Siberian ...
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NewsLong-distance concession talks break down
SWITZERLAND: Negotiations for a national jointly operated long-distance passenger traffic concession with services run by SBB, BLS and SOB collapsed on February 16. Discussions had been underway since autumn last year for the ‘multi-railway’ proposal. SBB issued a statement regretting the failure of the talks and noted that BLS had ...
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NewsSNCF buys 45% stake in BLS Cargo
SWITZERLAND: BLS has agreed to sell a 45% stake in its freight subsidiary BLS Cargo to SNCF Logistics, the French national railway’s freight business. The deal announced on February 16 is subject to regulatory approval. BLS would remain the majority shareholder with a 52% stake, and Ambrogio Group would retain ...
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NewsBerner Oberland-Bahn EMU enters service
SWITZERLAND: The first of six Stadler ABDeh 8/8 electric multiple-units ordered by Berner Oberland-Bahn entered revenue service on the metre-gauge route between Interlaken Ost, Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald on February 13. This followed a ceremony on February 10 during which a depot at Zweilütschinen was formally opened and the first of ...
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NewsSBB Cargo adopts new financing model for locomotive order
SWITZERLAND: Swiss Federal Railways’ freight business said it was ‘entering into new forms of financing’ when it announced an order for 18 Siemens Vectron multi-system electric locomotives on January 30. SBB Cargo International has opted to order the locomotives through LokRoll, a leasing company set up by family-owned investment group ...
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NewsSBB launches multi-modal trip planning apps
SWITZERLAND: Swiss Federal Railways has launched SBB Reiseplaner apps for iOS and Android, providing a door-to-door trip planner based on HaCon’s Hafas platform which includes multi-modal public transport connections, car sharing provider Mobility, private cars and private or hired bikes along as well as car and cycle parking. The user ...
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NewsMatterhorn Gotthard Bahn renews shunting locomotive fleet
SWITZERLAND: Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn has awarded Stadler a SFr23m contract to supply seven locomotives of three types for shunting and hauling infrastructure trains. This will enable the metre-gauge operator to retire its older diesel locomotives, standardise its non-passenger fleet and reduce noise and emissions. The contract signed on December 23 ...
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NewsTraxx approved for the Gotthard Base Tunnel
SWITZERLAND: Traxx locomotives which have been upgraded with the latest EBI Cab 2000 automatic train protection software are now approved for operation in the Gotthard Base Tunnel, Bombardier Transportation announced on November 28. Authorisation has been obtained as a result of ‘close co-operation’ between federal transport agency BAV, infrastructure manager ...
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NewsStadler awarded metre-gauge EMU contract
SWITZERLAND: Wynental- und Suhrentalbahn has awarded Stadler a SFr50m contract to supply five three-car electric multiple-units and spare parts. Entry into service is planned for December 2019, and there is an option for 10 more EMUs. The air-conditioned EMUs will have a maximum speed of 80 km/h. They will be ...
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NewsBitcoin to be sold through Swiss ticket machines
SWITZERLAND: Passengers will be able to buy the digital currency Bitcoin from Swiss Federal Railways’ ticket machines from November 11, under a distribution deal between the operator and financial intermediary company SweePay. SBB said there have been limited opportunities to purchase Bitcoin in Switzerland, and over the past two years ...
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NewsBözberg Tunnel groundbreaking
SWITZERLAND: A groundbreaking ceremony held at Schinznach-Dorf on March 9 launched construction of the 2·7 km new Bözberg Tunnel, the biggest single element of the project to increase clearances to 4 m to accommodate semitrailers on the Gotthard corridor between Bern and Italy. The new double-track bore is being built ...
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NewsSBB orders rescue trains
SWITZERLAND: Swiss Federal Railways has awarded a consortium of Windhoff Bahn- & Anlagentechnik and Dräger Safety a SFr38m contract to supply three firefighting and rescue trainsets by the end of 2018. The LRZ18 trainsets will be based at Genève, Melide and Brig to cover the CEVA line, Ceneri base tunnel ...
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NewsCantons back Grimsel Tunnel to link metre gauge networks
SWITZERLAND: The cantons of Bern and Valais and electricity distribution company Swissgrid unveiled a SFr580m plan for the construction of a railway linking the Zentralbahn and Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn metre-gauge networks on February 4. Swissgrid’s high voltage link over the Grimsel Pass is due to be replaced, and the ...
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NewsGotthard Base Tunnel freight tests begin
" src="https://d1x8q5iq3n6y12.cloudfront.net/CMS/s3/dvv-library/web/import/pics/tn_ch-gotthard-base-tunnel-first-freight-train-test.jpg?w=660" />SWITZERLAND: Testing of freight rolling stock in the 57 km Gotthard Base Tunnel began on January 16, when project promoter AlpTransit Gotthard and SBB Cargo undertook trials with a variety of wagon types including two rolling motorway lorry-carrying vehicles. Further tests over the coming weeks will assess vehicle ...