Stadler trains to run on Maas-Wupper-Express
Bussnang - Stadler in the St.GallenBodenseeArea will deliver 20 modern trains to Regionalverkehre Start Deutschland GmbH. From 2026, these vehicles will run on the cross-border Maas-Wupper-Express between the city of Hamm in North Rhine-Westphalia and Eindhoven in the Netherlands.
Stadler has signed a delivery contract for supplying 20 modern rail vehicles of the type FLIRT. In a European public tender issued by the Regionalverkehre Start Deutschland GmbH, Stadler impressed with an “outstanding price-performance ratio in combination with the excellent energy values of the vehicles”, as the train builder from the St.GallenBodenseeArea reported in a press release. The modern trains will be used in the Maas-Wupper network for the cross-border regional express line RE 13 between North Rhine-Westphalia and the Netherlands.
Based in Bussnang in the canton of Thurgau, the manufacturer of railway rolling stock announced the trains will go into operation from 2026. The “extra-long cars of the FLIRT vehicles” are fitted for more comfortable, safer and faster travel. With seven doors on each side for easy and safe entry and exit, they improve passenger change times.
There is space for 375 passengers in the four-part trains, 235 of which seated. The cars have passenger WiFi and large multi-purpose areas that can accommodate up to 12 bicycles, wheelchairs or prams. The vehicles offer step-free access and also have two WCs, one of which is accessible for disabled people.
For the German railway company Start founded in 2016, this delivery contract is the first time new vehicles are being ordered. They will enable passengers on RE 13 to travel without changeover on the current route. According to information provided by the company, Start was awarded the contract in January 2022 to operate the line when the timetable changes in 2026. The route will then be extended beyond the present last station of Venlo to Eindhoven.
The trains have multi-system-capability to run on the German and Dutch railway electrification systems. They are equipped with the European Train Control System (ETCS), the German intermittent cab signalling system Punktförmige Zugbeeinflussung (PZB) and the Dutch train protection system Automatische TreinBeïnvloeding (ATB).