SWISS Federal Railways (SBB) has signed a SFr 320m ($US 349.7m) contract option with Stadler for the supply of 33 four-car single-deck Flirt Evo EMUs, which will deployed from 2030 on cross-border services between northwestern Switzerland and the Alsace region of northeast France.
The latest batch of Flirt Evo EMUs for SBB will take traction current at 15kV 16.7Hz ac in Switzerland and at 25kV 50Hz ac in France, and be equipped with safety systems for both countries.
Up to three EMUs will be able to operate in multiple in France, and up to four in Switzerland. Each four-car train will have 146 seats, as well as space for bicycles, pushchairs and large items of luggage.
SBB says that two new cross-border lines will be added to the Basle S-Bahn network in December 2030, including Line S2 from Olten to Basle and Mulhouse in France.
Line S4 will run from Laufen to Basle and then across the border to Saint-Louis. On both lines, trains will run every 30 minutes for most of the day.
SBB has exercised the option for 33 trains under a framework agreement signed with Stadler in 2022 for the supply of up to 510 single-deck Flirt EMUs, following what Stadler describes as the largest tender in the history of Swiss railways and an unsuccessful legal challenge by Alstom.
Signing of the framework was accompanied by an initial SFr 2bn call-off order for 286 trains. They will replace first-generation Flirts at SBB and articulated EMUs at its Thurbo subsidiary, as well as Domino and Nina EMUs at a second subsidiary, RegionAlps.
The first Flirt Evo trains are due to enter service in 2026, with deliveries from Stadler’s Bussnang plant running until 2034.
“The signing of this contract option represents a significant step forward for cross-border transport,” says Stadler board chairman Mr Peter Spuhler.
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