First SŽ FLIRTs

On 17 April 2018 Stadler won its first major new train contract in Slovenia, signed with state operator Slovenske Železnice for 26 trains of three types: ten three-car KISS EMUs, 11 four-car FLIRT EMUs and five three-car FLIRT DMUs. Now Stadler Siedlce works is assembling the five three-car FLIRT DMUs. The first of them, designated 610/615 001, was completed in November and then on the 11th moved to the Żmigród test centre for test runs. On 3 December it returned to Siedlce, and subsequently it will start testing at Źmigród in early January 2020. Meantime, the remaining four Class 610/615 DMUs were also completed.

The four-car FLIRT EMUs and the three-car KISS EMUs are being produced at the Stadler Minsk works. FLIRT EMUs are now in the production stage with the first train being in the final assembly. For the KISS EMU production recently started with welding of bodyshell elements.

The 140 km/h 3 kV DC KISS EMUs, intended for domestic middle-distance services, will be 79.84 m long. The axle arrangement will be 2’Bo’ + 2’2’ + Bo’2’, and the continuous power rating will be 2,000 kW. These will be the first 3 kV 1,435 mm gauge KISS EMUs to have been built so far (the other 3 kV DC KISS version is the 1,520 mm gauge Class ESh2 built initially Aeroexpress).

The 160 km/h FLIRT EMUs will be fitted for operation off 25 kV 50 Hz, 15 kV 16.7 Hz and 3 kV DC. The axle arrangement will be Bo’ 2’ 2’ 2’ Bo’, and the 80.7 m long trains will have a total continuous power rating of 2,000 kW. They are to be used on international middle-distance services linking Slovenia with Austria and Croatia.

The 140 km/h FLIRT DMUs have a Bo’ 2’ 2’ 2’ Bo’ axle arrangement. Although these are three-car trains, they also incorporate a separate Power module, mounted on two non-powered bogies, fully gangwayed, accommodating two 520 kW Deutz diesel engines with electric power transmission.

All new trains will be fitted with on-board ETCS. The FLIRT and KISS EMUs will be designed so that they can run in multiple with each other.