More EMUs for Centovalli

The Italian railway operator SSIF ordered additional narrow-gauge trains as part of the Framework Agreement signed in December 2022. Thanks to a European funding of 35.7 million EUR guaranteed by the funds of the modified NRRP (National Recovery and Resilience Plan), the railway operator SSIF (Società Subalpina di Imprese Ferroviarie) has been able to sign in the last few days a further contract, bringing to four the total number of four-car EMUs ordered at Stadler, thus expanding its fleet for the cross-border operation on the Domodossola (Italy) - Locarno (Switzerland) section of the Vigezzina - Centovalli line.

The trains with a length of 64 m and 144 seats can be configured as well into shorter compositions - with two or three cars - to meet different operating requirements. The signing of the new order confirms Stadler’s leading role in the supply of narrow-gauge rolling stock for Italy and Europe.

The rejuvenation of the SSIF fleet is taking place at the same time as that of the FART (Ferrovie Autolinee Regionali Ticinesi), which together with SSIF operates on the Centovalli line. Both companies have an excellent and profitable cooperation relationship for over 100 years, aimed at maintaining both uniformity of vehicle construction and the same operational quality standards.

Daniele Corti, SSIF Managing Director, stated: „Thanks to Stadler's flexibility and its attention to customer needs, it was possible to develop a project that meets both the increasingly stringent regulatory requirements and the necessity to find ‘a suitable slot‘ in the production process to schedule the construction of additional rolling stock within the timeframe prescribed by EU with the NRRP funds.“

This is crucial in the context of the expansion and technological innovation plan that SSIF is implementing, following the renewal of the ten-year concession obtained in 2021. In fact, the expansion of the fleet with the four new Stadler-buit trains will allow the Vigezzina - Centovalli railway, which for hundred years represented a decisive service for both local and cross-border public transport and an excellence for tourism in the area, to guarantee operation’s continuity and regularity, significantly increasing the overall quality level.