VR buys 20 new commuter trains from Switzerland

The national railway operator VR decided to by 20 electric multiple unit trains from Switzerland based train building company Stadler.

The trains will be put into service in spring 2026, said VR in a press release on Tuesday.

The procurement also includes options to order 50 more trains from Stadler as well as maintenance services for the trains. The value of the procurement without options is about 250 million euros.

The new commuter trains are 50% more energy-efficient than VR’s existing commuter rolling stock. The interior of the trains can be modified as needed, which means that, for example, the number of bike spaces can be increased for summer.

“We have defined the features we want the new fleet to have by listening to our customers’ wishes and having our employees participate in the process. These trains enable us to improve the customer and employee experience and energy efficiency,” said VR’s CEO Elisa Markula.

The trains will be introduced for lines D, R, T, Z and M, which currently use Sm4 rolling stock that was put into service between 1999 and 2005. Most of the Sm4 trains will be transferred to other routes to replace VR’s older Sm2 commuter rolling stock.

Stadler won the tendering process in terms of both quality and price. VR has had good experiences with Stadler’s FLIRT Sm5 electric multiple unit trains when operating in the capital region’s HSL commuter traffic, where the trains were put into service in 2009.