SWITZERLAND: Berner Oberland-Bahnen has exercised an SFr50m option for Stadler to supply five more electric multiple-units as part of a programme to renew its fleet and increase services to accommodate growing ridership.
The three-car 1·5 kV DC EMUs will be built at Stadler’s Bussnang factory for entry into service between the end of 2027 and mid-2028.
BOB ordered an initial six EMUs for SFr66m in May 2022, and they are to enter service on the 23·7 km Y-shaped metre-gauge Berner Oberland-Bahn between Interlaken Ost, Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald from Q4 2025. A further four were ordered for SFr39m in March 2024.
They have barrier-free entrances into spacious boarding areas designed for rapid passenger flow. They have 140 seats, and multifunctional areas with space for luggage, skis, pushchairs and bicycles to encourage leisure travel and modal shift from road to rail.
‘With our customised metre-gauge multiple units, we are contributing to the further expansion of sustainable mobility in the breathtaking Jungfrau region’, said Christian König, Deputy Head of Sales at Stadler, when latest order was announced on July 7.
