Stadler will produce and deliver Norway’s new long-distance trains
The travel experience of the future is secured with more comfort, flexibility, and accommodation options. Today, Norske Tog announces that Stadler has been awarded the contract for 17 long-distance trains. The contract includes options, allowing up to 100 new trains to be acquired by Stadler.
– This is a big day! Norway has some of the most spectacular train rides in the world, and with the new long-distance trains coming in 2027, everything is in place to lift the experience, the comfort, and the quality for the passengers to a whole new level, says Øystein Risan, CEO of Norske tog AS.
Norske tog AS is responsible for procuring, owning, and managing the rolling stock for passenger train transport in Norway. Norske tog AS is owned by the Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications.
The production of the new long-distance trains will start in 2024, and the first new train sets will be delivered for test-driving in Norway from 2025. The new train sets will be put into traffic on the Bergen Line from 2026, replacing old trains reaching their technical life expectancy.
Comfort and experience
Stadler won the long-distance contract based on a total assessment of quality and cost criteria. The company is one of Europe’s leading train suppliers, with headquarter in Switzerland. Recently, Stadler delivered Flirt train number 150 to Norske tog.
– The new train class, FLIRTNEX will offer both reclining seats, flexible sleeping compartments, bistro, family areas, and lots of space for luggage. These are some of the facilities that travelers can look forward to, and which will contribute to making it the most attractive way of traveling in Norway. The train should not solely be a means of transportation, but also an experience in itself and a place you enjoy staying, says project manager at Norske tog AS, Sille Svenkerud Førner.
The new long-distance trains will have a top speed of 200 km/h. Each train set will consist of 8 carriages with a total capacity of up to 542 seated passengers. Norske tog AS acquires train for both electrified and non-electrified train lines.
A new and forward-looking offer
– The new trains will be more flexible when it comes to space, comfort, and different type of usage. The customer will enjoy accommodation options for sleeping, with both reclining seats, 2-bed sleeping compartments and 4-bed sleeping compartments. During daytime, the sleeping compartments can be used as private seating groups for both families and business travelers. The reclining seats can be used both during the day and night, says Risan.
With the signing of the contract the design process is to start. Through a collaborative effort, Norske tog and Stadler will decide of final adaptions and adjustments before the trains go into production. Train operators and stakeholders will also be included in the process.
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