17.02.10
Roll-out of the LEB’s first new suburban train
Cantonal councillor François Marthaler, head of the Department of Infrastructure, Yvan Nicolier, chairman of the Lausanne-Echallens-Bercher-Bahn (LEB), and Peter Spuhler, owner and CEO of Stadler Rail, together with other guests, today celebrated the roll-out of the first of six new RBe 4/8 multiple-unit trains at Echallens station. The invited guests were able to take this opportunity to experience the benefits of the new trains for themselves on the inaugural journey from Echallens to Bercher and back. The new trains will start scheduled operations from May 2010. Before that can happen, however, the fleet must pass various approval tests.
The order, including spare parts, is worth around CHF 41 million. The vehicles are being built in the Altenrhein works, meaning that around 80% of the added value is being generated in Switzerland.
The LEB awarded Stadler the contract shortly before Christmas 2008, and just 14 months later, the first of these customised suburban multiple-unit trains can be unveiled to the public and used for its maiden journey from Echallens to Bercher and back. Peter Spuhler, owner and CEO of the Stadler Rail Group, is particularly pleased: “We were only able to keep to this ambitious schedule due to the co-operation between the two project teams. I would therefore like to thank everyone involved. Moreover, Stadler has been able to handle another order with 80% added value in Switzerland, proving its excellence in developing and manufacturing customised vehicles.”
The new trains will be used on the LEB’s Lausanne–Echallens–Bercher route, which connects Lausanne city centre to the conurbations in the Echallens area and the attractive rural region towards Bercher in the heart of the Canton of Vaud. Thus, the LEB has to cater both for heavy commuter traffic and for tourists.
The time until scheduled operations are due to start in May 2010 will be spent testing the vehicles and submitting them for approval.
“This rolling stock, for which the canton granted a loan guarantee of over CHF 40 million, clearly offers users ‘more’ of both comfort and accessibility. These multiple-unit trains are also essential to running trains every quarter of an hour between Cheseaux and Lausanne and, being so modern, it will certainly be possible to win more customers onto public transport in the Lausanne urban area. Improving services is also one of the objectives of the cantonal structural plan and the Lausanne–Morges conurbation project as well as the ‘OPair’ action plan,” says cantonal councillor François Marthaler.
Yvan Nicolier, chairman of the LEB, adds, “The LEB is experiencing a rapid increase in traffic: up over 100% in less than 10 years! We have high expectations of this new rolling stock: improved operating conditions from better performance and reliable operation. In particular, the low-floor entry will enable passengers to embark and disembark quickly, which will improve the reliability of the timetable at peak times. The ease with which bicycles can be loaded and unloaded onto the train will probably attract more commuters and day trippers.”
Customised vehicle
The RBe 4/8 has been customised to the LEB’s needs based on tried-and-tested modules. One modification is that the different embarkation heights at the stops (from pavement level to 550 millimetres over the top of the rail) are handled by means of two sliding steps situated one above the other. The RBe 4/8 is a metre-gauge multiple-unit train, over 60% of which has a low-floor design. The vehicle is 42.1 metres long and has capacity for 306 passengers, 118 of which seated. Air conditioning and bogies with air suspension improve passenger comfort. Eight 140-centimetre-wide doors allow passengers to embark and disembark quickly. If required, the train can be extended with an intermediate car.
Stadler Rail Group
The Stadler Rail Group, system supplier of customer-specific solutions for rail vehicle construction, has locations in Switzerland (Altenrhein, Bussnang and Winterthur), in Germany (Berlin-Pankow and Velten), in Poland (Siedlce), in Hungary (Budapest, Pusztaszabolcs and Szolnok) and in Algeria (Algiers). The Group has a workforce of some 3,000 people around the world. The best-known vehicle series from the Stadler Rail Group are the articulated multiple-unit trains GTW (501 trains sold), the Regio-Shuttle RS1 (404 trains sold), the FLIRT (547 trains sold), the double-decker DOSTO (73 trains sold) in the railway segment, and the Variobahn (264 trains sold) and the newly-developed Tango (142 trains sold) in the tram segment. Furthermore Stadler Rail manufactures passenger carriages and two-axle locomotives and is the world’s leading manufacturer of rack-and-pinion rail vehicles.
For further information please contact:
Stadler Rail Group
Vincenza Trivigno, General Secretary
Telephone: +41 (0)71 626 20 34
Mobile: +41 (0)79 430 69 68
vincenza.trivigno@stadlerrail.com
www.stadlerrail.com
- Downloads
- 2010-02-17_LEB_Roll-out_ENGLISH.pdf (Deutsch)
- 2010-02-17_LEB_Roll-out_ENGLISH.pdf (English)
- 2010-02-17_LEB_Roll-out_ENGLISH.pdf (Français)
