PROSE
PROSE is a Swiss rolling stock engineering company headquartered in Winterthur, providing development, simulation, testing and authorisation services to European vehicle manufacturers, operators and authorities.
PROSE AG was founded in 1983 as an independent rolling stock engineering service provider. In company and press material published between 2018 and 2021, PROSE described itself as employee-owned; the Swiss commercial register records no ownership details.
In October 2001, PROSE took over the measurement and commissioning activities that had originated as the physical laboratory of Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works (SLM) in Winterthur, and which had passed to Bombardier Transportation through the Adtranz acquisition.
Engineering services
The mechanical engineering department covers the development of bogies and vehicle bodies, and of other rolling stock components, from conceptual design through to manufacturing design. Supporting analysis includes running dynamics, wheel–rail contact and wear, crosswind stability, and stress, crash, noise and vibration calculations.
Beyond development, PROSE builds test benches for rail vehicle modules and supports vehicle testing, verification and validation. The company also handles vehicle authorisation processes under national and international regulations.
Bogie references
MOB (Montreux–Oberland Bernois) commissioned PROSE to engineer the variable-gauge bogie for what became the GoldenPass Express. PROSE carried out the feasibility analysis, the mechanical and control engineering development, strength analysis and detailed manufacturing design. The design uses two half-frames that slide 435 mm relative to one another, with independently rotating wheels. Two EV09 prototype bogies were manufactured by Alstom at Neuhausen, fitted under an existing MOB coach and demonstrated at Montreux in May 2010.
PROSE also developed the gauge-changing installation itself at Zweisimmen station, where a passing train changes between metre gauge and standard gauge at 15 km/h while the car body is raised from 350 mm to 550 mm to match the differing platform heights. Gauge-change testing began in 2019, and the installation was still being commissioned by PROSE and Stadler in 2022. For series production MOB turned to Alstom, whose EV18 design was built in 58 examples at Villeneuve; the trains entered service in December 2022.
Market position
PROSE operates nine sites across six countries: Winterthur and Bern in Switzerland, Berlin and Munich in Germany, Västerås and Sundbyberg in Sweden, Pisa in Italy, Lyon in France, and Schwaz in Austria.
Its customers span vehicle manufacturers, operators, authorities and maintainers, and the company cites its independence from vehicle manufacturers as the basis for its consultancy work. PROSE is a member of the national rail supply industry associations SWISSRAIL, VDB, Swedtrain, Rail.S, ACstyria and ARI.
Current activity
PROSE exhibits at InnoTrans 2026 in Berlin (22–25 September).
