Stadler wins big contract for Caltrain bilevel EMUs NEWSWIRE

Swiss railcar building Stadler says it received the contract to design and manufacture 16 six-car KISS bilevel electric multiple-unit trains for Caltrain in California. The contract, with an option for an additional 96 cars, has a total value of $551 million. It is the first time that Stadler has sold lightweight bilevel trains to the United States. With this contract Stadler KISS trains will be running in nine different countries.

The rail supplier’s owner and CEO Peter Spuhler signed a contract for the bilevel EMUs with Caltrain CEO Jim Hartnett in San Mateo, Calif., on Monday. The contract between Caltrain and Stadler says the trains will be 515 feet and 3 inches long.

The new trains will connect San Francisco with San Jose in the Silicon Valley. The EMUs, with their high performance and passenger capacity, will help to provide a better service to the rapidly growing ridership by allowing Caltrain to offer faster and more frequent connections. The replacement of the existing heavy-steel-construction diesel fleet with state-of-the art lightweight aluminum EMUs will also significantly decrease greenhouse-gas and noise emissions.

— From a Stadler U.S., news release. Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2016.