SWITZERLAND: Narrow gauge operators Rhätische Bahn and Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn have placed a SFr100m joint order for 11 Stadler electro-diesel locomotives.
The 1 000 mm gauge locomotives will be manufactured at Stadler’s Bussnang works.
Eight will be delivered to RhB and the remaining three to MGB. There will be some significant technical differences, with the RhB locomotives being adhesion only, while the MGB locos will use the Abt rack and pinion system. The RhB locomotives will be dual-system to enable operation using the 1 kV DC electrification on the Bernina line.
Both railways are planning to use the locos to support maintenance activity, and so the ability to operate when the overhead catenary is switched off or in the event of a power outage is key feature.
RhB said it welcomed the prospect of ‘shorter intervention times’ in the event of disruption. The locos are more powerful and have better acceleration than the vehicles they will replace, which is seen as an advantage in the event of a train needing rescuing because much of the RhB network cannot be accessed by road. The locos will also help RhB to address increasing demands on its fleet as it launches more infrastructure enhancement works, while windows for engineering possessions are getting shorter.
MGB says its locos will play a role in helping snow clearance on the Oberalp Pass in winter. They will replace its HGm 4/4 61-62 diesel loco fleet, delivered in 1968.
The order is the latest to be placed under the RailPlus shared procurement model adopted by many of the Swiss narrow gauge railways to keep costs down. Montreux-Berner Oberland-Bahn ordered six locomotives in mid-October, while Transports de la Région Morges–Bière–Cossonay ordered a single locomotive on December 10.
