FLIRT H2 Prototype On Test

On 16 March 2023, Stadler presented the FLIRT H2. The HMU, number 3501, is the first train of an order for two ones placed with Stadler US in November 2019 by the San Bernardino County Transit Authority (SBCTA) for the Redlands Passenger Rail Project. It is a 14.5 km stretch between the San Bernardino Transit Center and the University of Redlands in the eastern suburbs of Los Angeles, where Arrow-branded services are operated by FLIRT DMUs since October 2022.

The FLIRT H2 prototype has been undergoing test runs since 10 December 2022 on the Etzwilen (Switzerland) - Singen (Germany) line, which is without regular passenger service, so it is now only a museum railway. In particular, the Etzwilen - Ramsen section, which is almost 6 km long and is located on the Swiss territory, is used for the tests, where a maximum speed of 80 km/h is permitted. The trains should be transported to the USA in the coming weeks. We are preparing a report from the tests, including a selection of the most interesting news from Stadler.