Stadler drops SBB appeal, clearing Siemens contract

Siemens Mobility will supply up to 200 double-deck trains to SBB from 2031, after Stadler ended a legal challenge it could not pursue without access to full court documents. Rendering: Siemens Mobility.

SWITZERLAND: Stadler Rail has withdrawn its legal challenge to SBB’s award of a framework contract for up to 200 double-deck trains to Siemens Mobility, making the procurement legally binding.

The Swiss manufacturer announced 6 April it was ending proceedings at the Federal Administrative Court, saying the court documents it received contained extensive deletions that left no sufficient basis for continuing the challenge.

Under Swiss procurement law, SBB and Siemens were entitled to have commercially sensitive sections of the court documents withheld from Stadler. The documents indicated that SBB had applied its evaluation criteria in favour of Siemens, but key sections remained inaccessible, Stadler said.

Krefeld plant to manufacture from 2031

The firm order covers 116 six-car double-deck EMUs: 95 for the Zürich S-Bahn network, replacing first-generation units in service since the early 1990s, and 21 for regional services in western Switzerland. A further 84 trains are included as an option, bringing the framework total to 200 units.

The first trains are due to enter service in December 2031, with delivery of all 116 units scheduled over six years. Each train will carry up to 540 passengers and operate at up to 160 km/h.

Production split between Germany and Switzerland

Siemens will manufacture the bodyshells at its Krefeld facility in western Germany. Testing, regulatory approval runs and commissioning will be carried out in Switzerland with local partners.

SBB cited a lifecycle cost advantage worth hundreds of millions of Swiss francs over the trains’ 25-year operational period as the basis for selecting Siemens. The contract was tendered in June 2024 and awarded in November 2025.

Stadler chairman Peter Spuhler said the company had no choice but to accept the outcome. “However, we have to accept it on the basis of the information available to us,” he said.

Related: