02.10.09
Stadler starts off in Erlen
Stadler Rail is building the first stage of a new Commissioning Centre (IBS Centre) for around CHF 30m in Erlen (Canton Thurgau), close to the SBB main line between Zurich and Romanshorn. Today, Peter Spuhler, CEO and owner of Stadler Rail, Cantonal Councillor Dr. Jakob Stark, Municipal President Roman Brülisauer and other guests jointly celebrated cutting the first turf at the ground breaking ceremony. Following investments of around CHF 60m at the Altenrhein and Winterthur locations, Stadler Rail is now building in Switzerland for the third time in 13 months. This is a clear commitment to Switzerland as a industrial base.
The IBS Centre
The 50 double-decker railcars (DOSTO) for the Zurich suburban lines as well as the 50 FLIRT trains for the Norwegian State Railway (NSB) are up to 150 metres long and therefore no longer fit into the existing track systems at the Bussnang and Altenrhein works. Stadler Rail is therefore building a new IBS centre in Erlen on the site of the former tank farm. The site has a direct connection to the SBB main line Zurich – Romanshorn and is therefore ideal as a location for the IBS Centre.
In the first stage, a shed around 162 metres long and 42 metres wide will be built with seven test tracks, two of which will be electrified. In the new IBS Centre, the completed multiple-unit trains will be subjected to a six-week inspection and commissioning programme before being delivered to the customer. Stadler will employ about 60 IBS engineers and specialists in Erlen for this work. The first trains should already be taken into in service in Erlen in twelve months' time.
Further consolidation of Eastern Switzerland as a location
The former tank farm has not been used for over ten years. The building of the new IBS centre will mean new, qualified workplaces on the area. The entire region will benefit from this. Municipal President Roman Brülisauer expressed it so: "The Stadler IBS Centre makes possible a very sensible conversion of the tank farm site that has been lying idle for so long and also creates additional qualified workplaces in the municipality." The Thurgau director of construction, Cantonal Councillor Dr. Jakob Stark was also very pleased about the project: "Canton Thurgau has also been affected heavily by the economic crisis. In this situation, it is a two-fold pleasure to be able to announce that new jobs are being created here."
Peter Spuhler was also delighted: "This new building means that we can further strengthen Switzerland as a place to work. And this after we have already invested around CHF 100m in the works at Altenrhein, Winterthur and the new office building for the Group management in Bussnang. To that can be added the investment of around CHF 8m for modifying the capacity of the work in Bussnang"
Expansion is possible
Stadler Rail submitted a tender to the SBB on 15 September for the building of double-decker multiple-unit trains for long-distance services. Should Stadler receive this order, an extension to the IBS Centre will be necessary as the trains to be delivered will be 200 metres long. The first stage has therefore been so designed that an extension to the building giving a length of 230 metres and the laying of further tracks – especially sidings and test tracks – will be possible without difficulty.
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, Pusztascabolcz and Szolnok) as well as in Algeria (Algiers). The Group has a workforce of over 2,400 around the world. The best known vehicle series from the Stadler Rail Group are the articulated multiple-unit trains GTW (489 trains sold), the Regio Shuttle RS1 (402 trains sold), the FLIRT (515 trains sold) and the double-decker train DOSTO (57 vehicles sold) in the railway segment and the Variobahn (Variotram) (264 vehicles sold) and the newly developed Tango (90 vehicles sold) in the tram segment. Furthermore, Stadler manufactures passenger carriages and diesel-electric locomotives and is the world’s leading manufacturer of rack-and-pinion rail vehicles.
If you have any questions, please contact:
Stadler Rail Group
Tim Büchele, Media Spokesman
Phone: ++41 (0) 71 / 626 31 57
Mobile: ++41 (0) 79 / 765 49 31
tim.buechele@stadlerrail.ch