WESTbahn ordered SMILE high-speed trains

On 12 March 2025, Stadler and WESTbahn announced the signing of a contract for the delivery of three 11-car SMILE units. With a maximum speed of 250 km/h they will be the first high-speed trains from Stadler in Austria, and will operate on the Wien - Graz - Klagenfurt - Villach route using the new Koralmbahn, representing the expansion of the WESTbahn services.

The 202 m long trains will have the TSI authorisation for operation in Switzerland, Germany, Italy and Austria, and will be fitted for 15 kV 16.7 Hz, 25 kV 50 Hz and 3 kV DC supply. They will have redundant traction equipment with four traction converters for four motorised bogies. Their maximum starting acceleration will be 0.77 m/s². The trains will offer the low-floor access for platforms with height of 550 and 760 mm above TOR, TSI PRM accessible toilet in each car, dedicated areas for bicycles, comfortable adjustable seats in all classes, free WiFi, USB ports and plug sockets at every seat, and suchlike.

The WESTbahn SMILEs will be built in Bussnang and are scheduled to start passenger service in March 2026, less than two years after the contract is signed. The new trains will expand the operator‘s existing double-deck KISS fleet (while the envisaged Chinese double-deck EMUs of Class 4100 are still being in the process of authorisation).

For Stadler, WESTbahn is the second customer for the SMILE type after SBB, where these high-speed trains run under the name Giruno. The SMILE design can also be seen on the end cars of the intercity DMUs for Saudi Arabia.

We asked the operator:
- is WESTbahn still envisaging to use the CRRC-built Class 4100 EMUs? If so, when are the trains expected to enter service and on which line(s)?
- will the SMILE trains be maintained by Stadler? In which depot?
- does WESTbahn have plans to run SMILE trains outside Austria? In which countries? And since when?
- does WESTbahn also have an option for more SMILE trains? If so, how many?
- is the financing of the SMILE trains organised/supported by Stadler? (similar to the KISS3 fleet?)

WESTbahn answered us: „As you can imagine, the expansion has generated a great deal of interest. We will therefore give you answers to all the questions that we can answer from today's perspective. We are currently unable to give you an update on the CRRC trains, so please be patient. We always communicate all information clearly and in good time, and this will also be the case here, as we have always emphasised. The SMILE trains will be authorised for Switzerland, Germany, Austria and Italy and will be operating for WESTbahn on the Südbahn, as already communicated.“