Railroad State-of-the-art SBB maintenance hall opened in Olten
SBB has put a state-of-the-art maintenance hall into operation at its Olten SO plant. The facility, which is unique in Switzerland, raises train maintenance to a new technological level.
06.02.2026, 13:23
SDA
As SBB announced on Friday, complex work such as painting, welding and sandblasting can be carried out much more efficiently at six new workstations in the approximately 6500 square meter hall extension, which took two years to build.
The hall extension enables efficient processing of the exterior surfaces of trains. The facility is unique in Switzerland due to its size and the fact that the train carriages are fed to the stands using a transfer table via a transport bridge. There is also an air-conditioned adhesive track. This is used, for example, to apply stickers to the front cab. SBB invested around 50 million francs in the maintenance hall.
Renewal extends the service life of the trains
The hall plays a central role in the renewal of 69 Regio-Dosto and 61 double-decker multiple units (DTZ) of the Zurich S-Bahn. According to SBB, the modernization will extend the life of the trains by up to seven years beyond the planned service life of 25 years.
SBB is investing more than 500 million Swiss francs in the two fleet renewals. Passengers will benefit from upgraded interiors, improved mobile communications, LED lighting and clearer markings both inside and out.
Digital technologies support the entire process at the SBB plant in Olten. "Extended reality" glasses would help employees to carry out work steps more precisely.
According to SBB, it is also increasingly using digital tools when planning its maintenance facilities. Using virtual reality, new halls or extensions to existing facilities can be better planned and implemented with greater involvement of future users.
