Siemens delivers 116 double-decker trains to SBB - Stadler comes away empty-handed

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• Siemens Mobility is supplying SBB with 116 new double-decker trains worth around two billion Swiss francs.
• The new trains will replace older models from the 2030s and, at 150 meters long, will offer over 500 seats per unit.
• They will have modern equipment with low-floor access, multifunctional zones and comfort features such as power sockets and adjustable seats.

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Siemens Mobility will supply 116 new double-decker trains for the S-Bahn in Zurich and western Switzerland. The costs amount to around two billion Swiss francs, as announced by SBB on Friday. The trains are due to enter service in the 2030s.

The 100-metre-long trains of the first generation of the Zurich S-Bahn will have to be replaced after 40 years. 95 of the new trains with a length of 150 meters and over 500 seats are to be put into scheduled service in the Zurich area, as the SBB already announced in June last year during the tendering process.

The new double-decker multiple-unit trains will primarily replace the "DPZ double-decker commuter train" and the "HVZ-D rush-hour double-decker train", as stated in the public tender for the contract.

Multifunctional zones required

21 additional vehicles are planned for use in western Switzerland - on the RER Vaud and on the RE33 Martigny VS - Annemasse (F) line. The trains in Zurich and in western Switzerland will have different interior and exterior colors.

The new trains must meet the requirements of the Zurich S-Bahn. For example, additional multifunctional zones are needed to provide space for commuters who only want to travel short distances and stop during rush hour.

There are also plans for low-floor boarding at all doors and power sockets in 1st and 2nd class. Adjustable seats and folding tables are intended to increase comfort in 1st class. The trains will run at a maximum speed of 160 kilometers per hour.

Stadler with great regret

Stadler Rail has noted SBB's decision with great regret. The Eastern Swiss company will carefully analyze the reasons given by SBB.

Stadler wanted to build the trains in Switzerland, together with over 200 suppliers from all over the country, as the company wrote in a press release on Friday. This would have kept up to 80 percent of the added value in Switzerland. "As a Swiss company with proven expertise in the construction of double-decker trains with maximum reliability, Stadler would have delivered an economically and technologically convincing solution."

The gap to Siemens is apparently small: "Based on SBB's scoring, Stadler can confirm that the effective price difference is 0.6 percentage points - calculated on 176 double-decker trains," wrote the eastern Swiss company. With an order volume of 2 billion Swiss francs, this would be a difference in the low double-digit millions. "Stadler will analyze the other evaluation points of SBB in more detail," explained a Stadler spokesperson.