photo: Stadler Rail/Illustrative photo
Stadler has withdrawn its legal challenge against Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) after failing to gain full access to tender documents.
Swiss rolling stock manufacturer Stadler has dropped its appeal against the decision by Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) to award a large framework contract for double-decker trains to Siemens Mobility, ending months of dispute over one of the country’s most significant rail procurements.
The company said it reached the decision after reviewing documents provided by the Federal Administrative Court, which it described as heavily redacted and only partially helpful in clarifying how the contract had been awarded. According to Stadler, the material it was able to access still indicated that SBB used its discretion during the evaluation process in favour of Siemens.
Appeal Aimed at Independent Review
Stadler filed the appeal in November 2025, arguing at the time that the scoring of bids and the final outcome could not be properly understood based on the information initially available. The company said it turned to the court to secure an independent assessment of the tender process. While the proceedings did provide some additional insight, large sections of the documentation remained inaccessible throughout.
Stadler said that entire parts of the case file were blacked out, including passages it considered relevant to the reasoning behind the award decision. As a result, it said it was not able to fully verify how the bids had been evaluated.
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Given those limitations, the manufacturer concluded that continuing the legal process would not bring further clarity and formally withdrew the appeal on 7 April 2026. Chairman Peter Spuhler said the company still regrets the outcome but accepts it on the basis of the information available. He added that Stadler will now focus on its ongoing cooperation with SBB.
Ongoing Criticism of the Decision
Despite ending the legal challenge, Stadler continues to question the choice made by the Swiss operator. The company argues that SBB selected a train concept that has not yet been proven in daily operation, while its own bid was based on an existing platform already in service.
Stadler pointed to its KISS double-decker trains, noting that more than 150 units are currently running in Switzerland and are among the most reliable vehicles in SBB’s fleet. At the time of the appeal, the company said it did not understand how its offer had been rated lower on criteria such as operating costs, maintenance, quality or sustainability compared with what it described as a solution that "exists only on paper."
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Contract Details and Deployment Plans
With the appeal now withdrawn, SBB said the contract award to Siemens has become legally final and the project can move forward as planned. The framework agreement includes 116 firm orders for double-decker trains, with an option for a further 84 units, potentially bringing the total to more than 200 trains.
According to SBB, Siemens’ bid was selected as the most advantageous overall, taking into account both economic and qualitative factors. The operator said the proposal stood out in terms of investment costs and long-term operating costs, including energy consumption and maintenance. SBB estimates that the new trains could generate savings of hundreds of millions of euros over a 25-year period.
The trains are expected to offer around 540 seats, along with larger multifunctional areas and increased standing capacity to accommodate growing passenger demand. Most of the fleet, 95 units, will be deployed on the Zurich S-Bahn network, while 21 trains are planned for use in western Switzerland. Passengers are expected to begin using the new trains from 2031.