Not getting the right train SBB boss: "It was a mistake that we wanted too much with the FV-Dosto"
In an interview, SBB CEO Vincent Ducrot admitted mistakes in the procurement of the FV-Dosto. SBB will soon be testing a modified version of the breakdown train.
27.12.2024, 05:57
27.12.2024, 06:47
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- SBB wants to test a converted long-distance double-decker FV-Dosto train on long-distance services in 2025.
- According to SBB CEO Vincent Ducrot, the prototype should ensure a smoother journey.
- In an interview, Ducrot admitted that mistakes were made in the procurement of the FV-Dosto.
- In particular, the expectations of the trains were too high.
- The Dosto is not only known as a breakdown train, but also as a shaking train.
SBB wants to test a converted long-distance double-decker FV Dosto train on long-distance services in 2025. As SBB CEO Vincent Ducrot explained in an interview with the "Neue Zürcher Zeitung", the prototype should ensure a smoother journey. "The FV-Dosto should run as smoothly as the Stadler double-decker trains," said Ducrot.
The trains procured several years ago do not allow the faster cornering that was hoped for. According to Ducrot, SBB is now looking into expanding the roll compensation, which shakes too much.
In the interview, Ducrot admitted that mistakes were made during the procurement of the FV-Dosto, in particular that the expectations of the trains were too high: "In hindsight, it was a mistake that we wanted too much with the FV-Dosto." The train that SBB received was not the train that they had ordered. "There were over a thousand adjustments afterwards. That's a lesson for us," said Ducrot, estimating the conversion costs for the 62 double-decker trains at a high double-digit million figure.
Ducrot also spoke about the additional costs of CHF 14 billion for the rail infrastructure up to 2035, which had become necessary due to changes in standards and requirements. "Today we have better measurement and simulation methods. They show that robust and stable operation is not possible with the increased train density," said Ducrot.
New quarter and half-hourly cycles
Changes in passenger flow requirements would also mean that stations such as Neuchâtel or Bülach would have to be rebuilt by 2050. According to Ducrot, the platforms will have to be adapted for longer trains as frequencies increase. Other factors include the implementation of the ETCS train control system, which leads to adapted braking curves, as well as the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act.
The Federal Office of Transport (FOT) also emphasized the necessity of the measures at the end of November. For example, the rail expansion step 2035 will enable new quarter and half-hourly services on around sixty routes and increase the number of seats by around twenty percent.
For freight transport, a nationwide express network for time-critical goods such as parcels or food is also planned. According to the FOT, all of this is necessary in order to cope with the growing demand for mobility and transportation.
14 billion Swiss francs in additional costs
The additional costs of CHF 14 billion over a period of twenty years were calculated by the FOT and SBB at a technical level. The revised 2035 service concept is now being reviewed internally and externally.