SWITZERLAND: Transports publics fribourgeois (TPF) has placed a firm order with Stadler for 13 four-car Flirt Evo electric multiple units worth CHF 117m (about EUR 125m). The trains are called off from the framework contract for up to 510 regional EMUs that SBB awarded Stadler in 2022, under which TPF can order without running a tender of its own.
The order was announced on 21 August by TPF and Stadler jointly. Delivery starts with the first train in service in December 2028, followed by one further set every two months. The new fleet replaces TPF’s Domino trains on regional services in the canton of Fribourg.
SBB’s 2022 procurement was written from the outset to cover the cantonal operators TPF, Transports publics neuchâtelois and Compagnie des Chemins de fer du Jura. TPF is owned by the canton of Fribourg and runs rail, bus and urban services there.
Each four-car Flirt Evo is just over 70 m long with 164 seats and a total capacity of 369 passengers. The sets run at 160 km/h and offer step-free boarding. Stadler builds them at Bussnang in Thurgau, where the SBB framework trains are also assembled.
The 2022 order and the options
SBB ordered 286 trains under the framework in 2022 at about CHF 2bn (around EUR 2.1bn), with an option for a further 224. SBB has also drawn on the option volume itself, calling off 33 trains in May 2024 for cross-border services towards Alsace.
Of those 286, SBB itself took 155 four-car sets. Thurbo, its regional subsidiary in eastern Switzerland, took 107: 88 three-car and 19 four-car. RegionAlps, the SBB subsidiary in Valais, took 24 four-car sets.
TPF general director Serge Collaud said the new trains bring comfort, modern technology and higher capacity to lines carrying rising passenger numbers. Christian König, deputy head of sales at Stadler, said the 13 four-car sets form the basis for more attractive regional services in the canton.