Swiss railway news – Page 2
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NewsEurostar orders Celestia double-deck high speed trains
EUROPE: Eurostar has announced a €1·4bn order for 30 Alstom Avelia Horizon double-deck high speed trainsets, with options for 20 more.
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NewsSwiss Federal Railways awards digital interlocking contracts
SWITZERLAND: Swiss Federal Railways has awarded Hitachi Rail, Siemens Mobility and Stadler major framework contracts worth SFr1·4bn for the supply of digital interlockings.
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News‘Unilateral’ Gotthard Base Tunnel safety changes still threaten European rail freight, trade bodies warn
SWITZERLAND: Wagon owners remain concerned about changes to the rules governing freight trains passing through the Gotthard Base Tunnel. They say these have been imposed unilaterally by the Swiss authorities and pose a risk to the viability of pan-European rail freight.
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NewsKnorr-Bremse to acquire railway electronics supplier Duagon Group
SWITZERLAND: Knorr-Bremse has agreed to acquire railway safety hardware and software company Duagon Group, which it said would complement its existing business and increase its share of revenue in the rolling stock market.
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NewsZentralbahn orders more trains to handle growing leisure traffic
SWITZERLAND: Metre-gauge operator Zentralbahn has awarded Stadler a contract to supply five more Adler electric multiple-units and three Fink units. These will provide additional capacity by 2030 to handle increasing leisure traffic including the growth of international tourism.
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NewsSBB Cargo aims to cut operating costs
SWITZERLAND: State-owned SBB Cargo is undertaking a realignment of its freight services under the Suisse Cargo Logistics programme, which would see the company become self-sufficient.
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NewsAppenzeller Bahnen applies to automate Rheineck – Walzenhausen line
SWITZERLAND: Appenzeller Bahnen has applied to the Federal Office of Transport for permission to convert its 1·96 km Rheineck –Walzenhausen rack-and-adhesion railway to fully automated operation.
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Metro Report InternationalSwiss light rail line prepared for automatic operation
SWITZERLAND: Automatic operation on the Waldenburgerbahn is scheduled to begin in September, with conversion to fully driverless operation envisaged for 2030.
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In depthPassenger trains: Stadler leads charge into alternative traction
While the political consensus on achieving net zero emissions may not be as robust today as it seemed to be only a few years ago, there can be little doubt that Europe’s railways remain committed to phasing out fossil fuel use. The transport sector still accounts for around a third ...
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NewsBerner Oberland-Bahnen orders EMUs to accommodate growing ridership
SWITZERLAND: Berner Oberland-Bahnen has ordered five more electric multiple-units from Stadler as an option on an existing order.
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NewsSwiss railway agrees ETCS upgrading framework contract
SWITZERLAND: BLS has agreed a long-term framework contract with Siemens Mobility covering the installation of ETCS Level 2 across its network.
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NewsEurostar plans direct trains from London to Frankfurt and Genève
EUROPE: Eurostar has announced plans to offer direct London – Frankfurt, London – Genève and Amsterdam – Brussels – Genève services once new trains are delivered in the early 2030s.
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NewsMountain railway orders ‘most beautiful’ rack trains
SWITZERLAND: Transports Montreux-Vevey-Riviera has awarded Stadler a contract to supply eight rack trainsets with large panoramic windows enabling tourists to enjoy views of the Alps and Lac Léman. The order signed on May 20 marks the final phase of a programme to overhaul the 10 km ...
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NewsUK to Switzerland high speed train working group to be established
EUROPE: A joint working group is to bring together the British and Swiss governments and rail industry experts to examine how to overcome the commercial and technical barriers to launching a direct high speed train service between the countries.
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NewsTrans-Alpine ‘Rolling Highway’ lorry-carrying service to end this year
EUROPE: The RAlpin ‘Rolling Highway’ piggyback service carrying accompanied lorries through the Alps by rail is to be discontinued in December, three years earlier than planned.
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NewsFranco-Swiss narrow gauge EMU deliveries begin
EUROPE: Stadler has delivered the first of seven dual-system electric multiple-units custom-designed for Mont Blanc Express services between France and Switzerland. The 55 km metre-gauge route is operated by Transports de Martigny et Régions, which is responsible for the Swiss section from Martigny to Le Châtelard, ...
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NewsEnhanced braking system raises speed on rack-and-pinion line
SWITZERLAND: Matterhorn Gotthard Railway and Stadler have unveiled a jointly-developed v+ braking system, which they say will enable operation of the ’world’s fastest’ rack-and-pinion rail service. One of MGBahn’s Stadler Orion metre-gauge electric multiple-units used on the Andermatt – Göschenen branch has been fitted with v+ ...
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NewsStadler profits hit by ‘environmental disasters’
INTERNATIONAL: Rolling stock and signalling supplier Stadler Rail has cited ‘environmental disasters’ as the main reason behind a fall in its profit margin. The Swiss-headquartered group issued its annual financial results on March 19, reporting a drop in EBIT margin of two percentage points to 3·1%. ...
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NewsFirst Saphir II trainset delivered
SWITZERLAND: Aargau Verkehr has taken delivery of the first of five Stadler ABe4/8 Saphir II electric multiple-units ordered for use on the 22 km Wynental and 10 km Suhrental lines west of Zürich from December 2025. The two-car 750 V DC EMUs ...
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NewsSwiss Federal Railways targets London as it seeks more cross-border high speed trains
EUROPE: Swiss Federal Railways is looking at ordering up to 40 high speed trainsets for use on international services to Italy and France, and ’potentially for other destinations such as Barcelona and London’. To meet growing demand for international travel, SBB is planning to expand the ...