Stadler Rail: Innovative Train Solutions for Modern Transportation

Building trains is Stadler's core competence. The company is an expert when it comes to rail transportation. Whether high-speed trains or subway trains for urban transportation, Stadler offers a broad portfolio. Messe.TV presenter Jürgen Groh is shown a Stadler train on the track and open-air site at InnoTrans 2016 in Berlin.

Swiss high-speed train EC250

Jürgen Groh: Greetings, Mr. Legler. We would like to see your train. Thomas Legler: Greetings, I'll be happy to show it to you. We have a five-car EC250 configuration on display here at InnoTrans. The EC250 is a Swiss high-speed train that will travel at 250 kilometers per hour on the route from Zurich to Milan and from Frankfurt to Milan. I think we'd better go inside the train and take a look at the different areas. Jürgen Groh and Thomas Legler enter the first class of the EC250. Jürgen Groh: I can see some trade fair visitors relaxing in first class on your train - what makes them so special? Thomas Legler: One of Switzerland's distinguishing features abroad is the high quality of workmanship. As you have seen in 2nd class, we have also made sure that we have a very high quality of workmanship in 1st class. It is important to us that the high-quality impression of the vehicle from the outside is also confirmed in the interior. The vehicle is approved for a total of 4 countries and there are some very special features. One example of this is the sockets. The Swiss sockets are different from the Euro sockets and as the train is used across borders, both variants are installed in the vehicle. Jürgen Groh: I see large screens here? Are there also movies to watch? Thomas Legler: An animated film from our production is currently being shown here for the trade fair. It shows the production of the vehicle throughout the entire development phase. Later, during operation, this monitor will show the next stops of the vehicle. This allows passengers to see from the inside when the station they want to get off at is coming up. It is a requirement of the SBB (Swiss Federal Railways) that screens are visible from many seats - so that every passenger actually knows where they are at all times. Jürgen Groh: Will your train then also be as punctual as we know it from Switzerland? Thomas Legler: (Smiles) I'm assuming that's the case. As long as the train is operated in Switzerland in any case. I hope that we will then achieve the same punctuality in Germany. Jürgen Groh and Thomas Legler continue into the EC250 cockpit

A look into the cockpit of the EC250

Thomas Legler: The vehicle is operated for the four countries Switzerland, Germany, Italy and Austria and on the driver's desk we see all the controls that are necessary to operate the vehicle with three systems - i.e. with the different voltage systems. The same applies to the train protection system for the four countries, so that traffic can operate across borders without the train having to stop at the border. The whole thing is called a moving transition. This means that the vehicle can switch between the train control systems without having to stop in between. Jürgen Groh: What makes Stadler's EC250 so special? There are many trains on display at InnoTrans. Thomas Legler: The special thing about the train is that it is a high-speed train for tunnel routes. So on the one hand, I have the requirement of high speed with 250 kilometers per hour and the associated monitoring of the running dynamics and aerodynamic issues. Secondly, there are aspects relating to customer comfort due to the tunnel routes. The train must be pressure-tight so that the pressure waves that are generated when the train passes through the tunnel do not affect the passenger, but so that the passenger notices as little as possible of the journey through the tunnel.

Jürgen Groh: What else can you tell me about this beautiful cockpit here - are there any special effects? Thomas Legler: The main controls are the direction indicator, where you can set the direction of travel forwards or backwards. Secondly, we have the drive/brake lever with which I can accelerate or brake. And as a safety feature, there is an additional brake lever in parallel. Then we have the controls that are relevant for operating the vehicle. I can release the doors on the left and right to allow the passenger to open the door and can then lock the doors again. I can control the train safety system via various monitoring elements. I use the train protection system's watch signal to indicate that I have seen a signal or distant signal. If the train driver does not acknowledge this, the train brakes automatically so that the train is always safe for the passenger.

Jürgen Groh: As an exhibitor at InnoTrans, you want to present and sell your train. Which markets are you focusing on? Thomas Legler: As a first step, we have planned approval for Switzerland, Germany, Italy and Austria. We think that there are further opportunities for 250 km/h vehicles in the European market. We hope that the presentation at InnoTrans will arouse interest so that other railroad operating companies may also want to order the train. Jürgen Groh: I wish you all the best for InnoTrans! Thomas Legler: Thank you very much!