SBB Cargo signs deal with Stadler Rail to revolutionise locomotive fleet

Swiss rail freight operator SBB Cargo finalised an agreement with Stadler Rail for the supply of up to 129 locomotives. The deal entails the delivery of 36 locomotives with the option for 93 more. “The locomotives will gradually replace the older generation, whose potential has been fully exploited”, SBB explained.

Deliveries of the first locomotives will take place between 2027 and 2035. They will be four-axle locomotives, which “is a novelty that is being launched on the market for the first time”, the Swiss company said. Other than working with electric traction, 22 of the first 36 locomotives which will be delivered will also be equipped with battery traction. This will enable them to be deployed also for first and last-mile services.

This initiative is part of SBB Cargo’s project to standardise its fleet. “SBB Cargo currently has 200 mainline locomotives of five different types. In the future, only one type is to be used”, the company said. Compared to the current four-axle locomotives currently used, the ones ordered with Stadler Rail allow for an additional 30 per cent capacity. They will also be ready to be equipped with the Digital Automatic Coupling.

SBB Cargo wagons will be replaced too

The fleet replacement will not only concern locomotives, as SBB mentioned. In a similar fashion, the current 27 types of wagons handled by the company will be reduced to three types plus one model of shunting locomotives. However, the company did not provide a precise timetable for this project. Such an approach, SBB claims, “will reduce the operating costs of SBB’s freight fleet by around 60 per cent”.