Troublesome Swiss train will not operate abroad

SBB FV-Dosto trains will not travel abroad Keystone-SDA

The Swiss Federal Railways will not be operating the problem-riddled double-decker FV-Dosto train abroad.

The aim of the procurement was to keep all options open, said the spokeswoman for Swiss Federal Railways on Swiss public radio SRF. “In the meantime, we have seen that there are other trains that are more suitable for use on longer routes abroad,” she said, referring to the Astoro, which operates cross-border services.

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The FV-Dosto is more suitable for use on domestic routes, especially on the east-west and north-south axis, the spokeswoman continued. She described the controversial double-decker train as the “backbone of Swiss long-distance transport”. The rail company owns a total of 62 such trains built by Bombardier.

“Not the train we ordered”

Around a year ago, the company’s CEO Vincent Ducrot admitted mistakes in the procurement of the FV-Dosto. “The train we got is not the train we ordered,” said Ducrot at the time in an interview with the Neue Zürcher Zeitung. There had been over a thousand subsequent adjustments.

The Swiss railway firm has been testing the problematic train since spring and has identified potential for improvement in terms of travelling comfort and reliability. From next year, the company will therefore be gradually modifying the bogies of the trains, as they announced around a fortnight ago. The aim is to noticeably improve travelling comfort.

The conversion will cost CHF90 million. However, the investment will be more than compensated for by lower maintenance costs over the entire service life, the rail company said. All in all, the railway will save CHF40 million as a result of the conversion. The remodelling should be completed by the beginning of the 2030s.

Adapted from German by DeepL/ac

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