22.10.10
Stadler inaugurates ultramodern Train Commissioning Centre
Today, Dr Kaspar Schläpfer, the economic director of Thurgau, Roman Brülisauer, Erlen’s Mayor, and Peter Spuhler, owner and CEO of Stadler Rail Group, along with other guests and craftsmen, inaugurated the new Train Commissioning Centre (IBS Centre) in Erlen, Thurgau. Stadler has invested around CHF 30 million in the very latest train commissioning infrastructure at this site on the SBB mainline Zurich–Romanshorn. Here, 150-metre-long trains (manufactured in Bussnang and Altenrhein) undergo a 6-week testing and commissioning programme. The Train Commissioning Centre was built in a record time of less than 12 months. With investments of more than CHF 100 million within 2 years, Stadler has for now completed the expansion of its capacity in Switzerland.
Further strengthening of the Thurgau site
Mayor Roman Brülisauer is delighted by the positive effects for the Erlen community: “The Stadler IBS Centre enables a very sensible change of use for the former tank farm site, which has been wasteland for more than 10 years now, and what’s more, creates additional skilled jobs.”
The entire region profits from the building of the new IBS Centre. At the inauguration celebration, Kaspar Schläpfer, member of the cantonal government, professed to be very pleased with the successful new construction: “Thank you to Stadler Rail Group, which, with this project, has once more proved its commitment to Switzerland as a production site. The short time needed for planning and construction also demonstrated how swiftly the approval process can be completed in Thurgau, and how strong our construction industry is.”
Peter Spuhler is also happy: “Thanks to the effort made by all involved – the tradespeople in particular – we were able to complete this new construction in record time, despite the severe winter. I would like to thank all the tradespeople and Stadler staff for a fantastic effort. With the inauguration of the IBS Centre in Erlen, we also complete our investment of more than CHF 100 million in our Swiss locations.” Thanks to these investments – in addition to the IBS Centre in Erlen – the Bussnang site was also extended by a fourth assembly hall, a new Centre of Competence for Bogies was built in Oberwinterthur, and the Altenrhein site was extended to become the Centre of Competence for Double-deckers. Including Stadler Stahlguss in Biel, around 500 jobs have been created since the start of the investments in 2008.
A proper IBS Centre
The 50 double-decker multiple-unit trains (KISS) for the Zurich commuter railway system and the 50 FLIRT trains for the Norwegian State Railways (NSB) are up to 150 metres long and so do not fit on the existing tracks at the factories in Bussnang and Altenrhein. Therefore, Stadler Rail decided to build a completely new IBS Centre in Erlen, with state-of-the-art infrastructure. The site has a direct link to the SBB mainline Zurich–Romanshorn, and so is ideally suited for a train commissioning centre.
A hall around 162 metres long and 42 metres wide has been built, with 7 test tracks – 2 of these are electrified. In the new IBS Centre, completed multiple-unit trains will undergo a six-week testing and commissioning programme before delivery to the customer. Stadler will employ around 60 commissioning engineers and specialists for this work in Erlen. The building has been designed so that the hall can be extended to 230 metres and further tracks added without difficulty.
Stadler Rail
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), in the Czech Republic (Prague), in Italy (Merano) and in Algeria (Algiers). The Group has a workforce of over 3,000 people around the world. The best-known vehicle series from Stadler Rail Group are the articulated multiple-unit trains GTW (539 trains sold), the Regio-Shuttle RS1 (487 trains sold), the FLIRT (618 trains sold), the double-decker multiple-unit train KISS (133 trains sold) in the railway segment, and the Variobahn (284 trains sold) and the newly-developed Tango (122 trains sold) in the tram segment. Furthermore Stadler Rail manufactures passenger carriages and locomotives and is the world’s leading manufacturer of rack-and-pinion rail vehicles.
For further information please contact:
Stadler Rail Group
Tim Büchele, Media Spokesman
Telephone: +41 (0)71 626 31 57
Mobile: +41 (0)79 765 49 31
tim.buechele@stadlerrail.ch
