Swiss Federal Railways (SBB), Thurbo, RegionAlps and Stadler have finally signed their framework agreement for up to 510 single-decker FLIRT multiple units.
This follows on from months of delays caused by an appeal against the award – the largest tender in Swiss rail history – which was made by fellow bidder Alstom.
This was overturned by Switzerland’s Federal Administrative Court last week, freeing the organisations to now move ahead with the award, which was made back in October 2021.
Now that the contract has been signed, Stadler can start building a total of 286 FLIRTs from the initial call-off order, valued at approximately two billion CHF (1.94bn euros | 2.08bn USD).
This order is made up of 155 four-car FLIRT trains for SBB, 24 four-car FLIRT trains for RegionAlps and 19 four-car and 88 three-car FLIRT trains for Thurbo. The framework agreement includes an option for up to a further 224 vehicles.
“We’re incredibly proud to be able to build these new trains to help expand Swiss regional transport.
“In 2002, SBB was the first rail operator to order the FLIRT model shortly after its development. It’s a great honour for us that after a 20-year success story, the 2,500th FLIRT train sold will now also run on Swiss rails.”
Delivery of the vehicles has been delayed due to the legal proceedings and the first trains are now expected to enter service in 2026, rather than December 2025 as originally planned.
The new trains will gradually replace existing rolling stock up to 2034.
