Stadler Rail comes away empty-handed Award of SBB contract to German company meets with little support from the Swiss
A major order from SBB goes to Germany: Siemens is to supply 116 new double-decker trains. This time, the competitor Stadler Rail will not be awarded the contract. A new survey shows that there is little support for this among the Swiss population.
03.12.2025, 06:25
03.12.2025, 07:29
SDA
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- SBB has ordered 116 new double-decker trains worth around two billion Swiss francs from Siemens Mobility.
- A new survey shows: SBB's major order from Siemens has little public support.
- Stadler Rail lodged an appeal against the award of the contract to Siemens last Friday (28.11.2025).
- The new trains will replace older models from the 2030s and, at 150 meters long, will offer over 500 seats per unit.
The SBB contract awarded to the German company Siemens has little support among the population. In a survey, 65% of around 11,000 Swiss people stated that they "do not" or "rather not" support the award of the multi-billion euro contract to Siemens. Only 28% of respondents said "yes" or "rather yes" to the question of whether they support the award of the contract to Siemens, according to the survey published by Tamedia and "20 Minuten" on Wednesday. The survey was conducted between November 27 and 30 in collaboration with the Leewas Institute.
On November 7, SBB awarded the order for 116 double-decker trains for the Zurich S-Bahn and Western Switzerland to Siemens. The order is worth 2.1 billion Swiss francs. In addition, there is an option for 84 further trains, which means that the framework agreement covers 200 double-decker trains with an estimated value of 3.6 billion Swiss francs.
Stadler Rail is not taking this defeat lying down. The eastern Swiss company has lodged an appeal with the Federal Administrative Court in St. Gallen against the award of the huge contract to its German competitor.
Stadler calls for "independent review"
The train manufacturer wrote in a communiqué last Friday that it could not understand SBB's assessment even after an in-depth analysis of the documents. An independent review of the award is appropriate.
However, SBB rejected the accusations: Siemens had won by a large margin. In a statement, Siemens declared that it had taken note of Stadler's appeal.
SBB said that it was not yet possible to estimate how long the procurement of the 116 double-decker trains would be delayed by the appeal. The new trains should actually be running from 2031.
