Swiss SBB to Procure 21 High-Speed Trains, Tender to Launch in 2027

en.Wedoany.com Reported - Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) has announced an adjustment to its international high-speed train procurement plan, deciding to directly procure 21 high-speed trains and obtain an option to purchase an additional 20 vehicles, with the related tender planned to launch in the first half of 2027. SBB had previously planned to introduce up to 40 high-speed trains through operating leases, and has now terminated the prequalification process for leasing companies.

SBB launched the original financing scheme in August 2025, when financial constraints led it to plan for acquiring next-generation high-speed trains through 15-year operating leases while simultaneously advancing vehicle procurement. In November 2025, four leasing companies—Alpha Trains, Beacon Rail, Rock Rail, and Willow Group—passed prequalification, with the next stage of bidding originally planned for the second quarter of 2026. After subsequent financing and whole-life cost calculations, SBB confirmed that direct purchase could be incorporated into its long-term investment plan and would be less costly than leasing over the entire service life of the vehicles.

On September 25, SBB terminated the lessor prequalification on the Swiss public procurement platform SIMAP, and the vehicle procurement moved into a new public tender preparation phase. The 21 trains represent the base procurement volume, with 20 as a subsequent purchase option, bringing the final potential procurement scale to 41 trains. SBB has not yet disclosed the train manufacturer, contract value, formation configuration, maximum operating speed, or delivery timeline for the first vehicles.

The new trains will adopt a multi-system high-speed train solution, primarily for Swiss cross-border international passenger services. SBB plans to expand high-speed rail services to Italy and France in the 2030s and to include destinations such as Barcelona and London in subsequent international network studies. The vehicles will need to adapt to different countries' railway power supply, signaling, and operating systems, with specific technical conditions to be further determined in the 2027 tender documents.

In the first half of 2026, SBB's international rail passenger volume exceeded 6 million trips, a year-on-year increase of 1.3%. In August of this year, the company was still discussing financing models with vehicle manufacturers and leasing institutions, with procurement originally planned to launch between the end of 2026 and early 2027; after completing the procurement model adjustment in September, the official tender time was locked in for the first half of 2027.