From renting to buying, Swiss Federal Railways has taken a more grounded approach to planning for the future. SBB, which originally planned to lease 40 high-speed trains, ultimately decided to purchase 21 of its own, taking control of the transportation capacity to Italy and France, thus rewriting its layout for long-distance travel.

Abandoning rent and switching to self purchase

Swiss Federal Railways SBB announced that it will purchase 21 multi standard high-speed trains for international passenger transport, with an additional 20 trains available for purchase. The previous plan was to operate and lease up to 40 trains for 15 years, but this plan has now been cancelled and the pre qualification process has been terminated. SBB assessment believes that self purchase is in line with long-term investment planning and has lower costs than leasing over the entire lifecycle of the vehicle. The bidding for new car procurement is expected to start in the first half of 2027, mainly for expanding transportation capacity to Italy and France to cope with passenger flow growth in the 2030s. Based on an estimated cost of approximately 33 million to 38 million euros per column, the total procurement amount could reach the level of one billion euros, with potential bidders including Alstom, Siemens Mobility, Talgo from Spain, and Hitachi from Japan. Keywords: Swiss Federal Railways, high-speed trains

Aim at the international line

SBB stated that its own vehicles facilitate flexible adjustment of international transportation products and deepen cooperation with European railway companies. Currently, SBB has 19 Alstom Pendolino tilting high-speed trains operated under the Astoro brand, providing international services between Switzerland and Germany, Austria, and Italy; It also has 41 Stadler Smile/Viruno high-speed trains, which are the main force of north-south international passenger transportation.Editor/Min Jing