Stadler: First Bimodal FLIRT To Roll-Out to Valle d’Aosta Region

Bussnang, Switzerland, 19-Jun-2017 — /EuropaWire/ — Stadler presents the first bimodal FLIRT in Bussnang on 15 June. The train is destined for the Valle d’Aosta region. Stadler presented the very first FLIRT with bimodal drive system to an audience of customers and Italian guests – railway operators, regional representatives from Valle d’Aosta, Piedmont, Molise and Calabria, and media representatives. The environmentally friendly vehicle is equipped with a 3 kV direct current drive for electrified lines, and a diesel-electric drive for nonelectrified lines. Its low axle load, at a maximum of 18 tonnes, is particularly impressive.

The Valle d’Aosta region ordered five of these bimodal FLIRT vehicles (BMU) in May 2015. This vehicle was presented in Bussnang and at the nearby commissioning centre in Erlen after a development and construction period of just over two years. Dr Pierluigi Marquis, President of the Valle d’Aosta regional council, and Peter Jenelten, Executive Vice President of Marketing and Sales at Stadler, cut the ribbon in a festive ceremony marking the vehicle’s debut on the rails.

Like all FLIRT vehicles, the first bimodal FLIRT is constructed using an extruded aluminium profile, making it light and energy-efficient. The three-part vehicle features an accessible power module, which houses the two Deutz V8 diesel engines (Euro IIIB), the tank, and additional drive equipment. The vehicle is 66.8 metres long, 2.82 metres wide and 4.12 metres tall. Its maximum speed is 160 km/h when using the electrical drive, and 140 km/h when using the diesel-electric drive.

This FLIRT vehicle for the Valle d’Aosta region is a milestone for Stadler: it is the first FLIRT to feature a bimodal drive system. Its low axle load of a maximum of 18 tonnes is unique among bimodal regional trains. This means that the vehicle is also suitable for secondary lines. The FLIRT for the Valle d’Aosta region is
now undergoing the required approval tests. The first vehicle will be put into commercial operation on the Aosta–Turin line in May 2018.

The new bimodal FLIRT is a vehicle that offers excellent performance whether using the electrical or the diesel-electric drive. Thanks to its versatility, the fact that it is particularly environmentally friendly, and its low axle load, the vehicle meets requirements set by railway operators servicing both main and secondary lines in an efficient, sustainable and reliable manner.

About Stadler
Stadler has been building trains for 75 years. The system provider of rail vehicle construction solutions is headquartered in Bussnang in Eastern Switzerland, and has a workforce of more than 7000 based in various locations across Switzerland, Germany, Spain, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Italy, Austria, the Netherlands, Belarus, Algeria and the United States. Stadler provides a comprehensive range of products in the commuter rail and railway segments: high-speed trains, intercity trains, regional and commuter rail trains, underground trains, tram trains and trams. In addition, Stadler manufactures main-line dual-mode locomotives, shunting locomotives and passenger carriages, including the most powerful dieselelectric locomotive in Europe. Stadler remains the world’s leading manufacturer in the rack-and-pinion rail vehicle industry.

More Stadler figures: the best-selling FLIRT (Fast Light Innovative Regional Train) vehicle has already sold over 1400 units in a total of 17 countries. The KISS vehicle (the name is an acronym of the German for Comfortable Innovative Speedy Suburban Train) is also very popular: it has sold 258 units in 9 countries. The most powerful diesel-electric locomotive in Europe, the EURO4000, has sold 130 units in 7 countries. Additionally, Stadler Service maintains vehicle fleets in 16 countries made up of over 680 vehicles that cover a combined annual distance of more than 120 million kilometres.

SOURCE: Stadler

Media contact:
Stadler Rail Group
Marina Winder
Secretary General and Head of Communications & PR
Member of the Group Executive Board
Phone: +41 71 626 31 57
Mobile: +41 78 843 57 20
E-mail: marina.winder@stadlerrail.com
www.stadlerrail.com