SWITZERLAND: Bern suburban operator Regionalverkehr Bern-Solothurn has awarded Stadler a SFr190m contract to supply 20 custom electric multiple-units to replace its oldest vehicles and increase capacity on Solothurn – Bern RegioExpress route RE5.
It is the third order RBS has placed with Stadler. The new EMUs will be delivered from the manufacturer’s Bussnang plant for entry into service between mid-2027 and 2030. This will enable a cascade of stock, with current NExT EMUs on RE5 going to Bätterkinden – Bern service S8 to replace the Seconda units which are now more than 30 years old and increasingly unreliable.
The new metre-gauge 1·25 kV DC three-car EMUs will be 60 m long, with up to three sets able to work in multiple. They will have 21 seats in first class and 103 seats plus 15 folding seats in second class. There will be multi-purpose areas for wheelchair users, pushchairs, bicycles and luggage, barrier-free entrances with sliding steps, environmentally friendly air-conditioning and at-seat power sockets.
‘Stadler impressed us with their high-quality realisation of our requirements, their well thought-out and efficient project planning, as well as the standard and high reliability rates of the vehicles they have already delivered to us’, RBS director Fabian Schmid said on November 28. ‘This partnership gives us the opportunity to heighten passenger comfort and make public transport in the region more appealing in the long term.’
Stadler Chairman Peter Spuhler said ‘once again, we have been able to impress our client with a customised vehicle and demonstrate that comfort, reliability and design can go hand in hand. I hope that RBS and its passengers will enjoy these new trains.’
