Stadler has lodged an appeal with the Swiss Federal Administrative Court against the decision by Swiss railway company SBB to award a contract for 116 double-decker trains.
After a detailed analysis, the company concluded that this decision should be reviewed by an independent authority to ensure the transparency demanded by the public.
Stadler offered an existing double-decker train. Since 2012, 153 Kiss double-decker trains have been operated by Swiss rail company SBB, with a maximum availability of 99%. Stadler has sold over 700 such trains in 14 countries. The price difference compared to the winning bid is only 0.6%. Following the SBB decision on November 7, 2025, Stadler analyzed the evaluation matrix in detail.
- Even after a thorough analysis of the available documents, Stadler cannot understand the scores awarded and the resulting award decision.
- Stadler’s bid, based on the Kiss double-decker train, which has already proven itself in daily operation, was undervalued compared to a train that exists only on paper.
- Stadler does not understand how the winning bid achieved higher scores on criteria such as operating costs, quality, maintenance, sustainability, or services.
Under these circumstances, an independent review of the award is considered necessary. As a result, Stadler filed an appeal with the relevant authorities on November 27, 2025.
“After careful examination of the decision, we still cannot understand the evaluation. Therefore, we have decided to appeal to the Federal Administrative Court in accordance with the procedure. This institution, as an independent judicial authority, should verify the correctness of the decision,” said Peter Spuhler, CEO of Stadler.
Discrepancy in the evaluation
The documents made available to Stadler did not clarify numerous questions regarding the evaluation, to which the rolling stock manufacturer did not receive satisfactory answers in clarification discussions with SBB.
For example, Stadler received only half the score of the winning bidder in the sustainability category. This is despite the fact that Stadler was the only bidder that would have produced the entire train in Switzerland, with short transport routes—including aluminum profiles from Valais and other components supplied by Swiss companies.
There is also “the question of plausibility: what criteria allowed a train that exists only on paper to score better than a double-decker Kiss train, which has been proven in operation for many years and has reliable data?” Stadler points out.
The contract for the 116 trains
It should be noted that in November, the Swiss railway company awarded Siemens Mobility the contract worth €2.1 billion to deliver 116 double-decker trains for the S-Bahn network in Zurich and western Switzerland. These are set to replace the fleet of trains that has been providing transport services for over three decades.
The new 150-meter-long trains will have a capacity of 540 seats and eight multifunctional areas, including for standing passengers, but when operated in double mode, i.e., at a length of 300 meters, they will offer 585 seats, and the multifunctional areas, including for standing passengers, will increase by 30%.
The new trains will start operating in 2030, with 95 trains serving the Zurich S-Bahn network. In addition, 21 trains will enter service on the Vaudois regional express routes in the canton of Vaud and on the RE33 Martigny–Annemasse regional line in the canton of Valais and in Annemasse, a town in France near Geneva.
A few days after the contract award was announced, Stadler publicly expressed its disappointment with SBB’s decision to award the contract to Siemens Mobility. The framework agreement involves the delivery of over 200 double-decker trains with a firm order for 116 trains and an option for a further 84 trains.
Stadler builds trains for the Swiss market, generating approximately 80% of the added value in Switzerland and collaborating with over 200 local suppliers, most of which are SMEs. The company reaffirms its commitment to the domestic market and to SBB.
It should be noted that SBB and Siemens Mobility recently signed another ten-year contract, but this time to promote the digitization of the railway infrastructure by installing the Signaling X solution.
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