BLS RABe 515


The BLS RABe 515, also known as MUTZ, is a class of bilevel electric multiple units manufactured by Stadler Rail for BLS AG. It is a second-generation derivative of the Stadler KISS. Formations are composed of four or six cars. They were the first bilevel cars used by BLS.

History

BLS ordered 28 four-car trainsets in March 2010 at a cost of. BLS planned to use the cars on various Bern S-Bahn routes. The first trains entered service on 19 September 2012. All 28 trains were in service by the December 2014 timetable change. BLS ordered three more trainsets in 2015, also for use on S-Bahn routes. In 2018, BLS exercised an option for eight more trainsets for use on long-distance routes between Bern and and Bern and. Five of these use an extended six-car formation.

Design

The four-car formation is long. Cars stand tall and are wide. The four-car trains have seating for 335 passengers; the six-car trains can accommodate 546. The design speed is.
In both formations there are cabs at the front and rear ends. The four-car formation has a single car with split first class and second class seating, with the six-car formation has two such cars. Passengers sit on both levels of the cars. The cars are low floor. Stairs at each end of each car permit access to the gangway between cars and to the upper level.

Operation

, the BLS RABe 515 is used on the S1, S3, S31, and S6 of the Bern S-Bahn, and on the Bern–Biel/Bienne and Bern–Olten InterRegio services.

Naming

It is common practice for railway companies in Switzerland to name their locomotives and MUs. Twelve BLS RABe 515 are named after communes in the cantons of Bern, Fribourg, Neuchâtel and Solothurn, each displaying also the respective coat of arms. RABe 515 008 has a special livery.
№COAName №COAName №COAName
515 001Stadt Bern515 009Muri bei Bern515 018Stadt Langenthal
515 003Düdingen515 012Lyss515 020Schwarzenburg
515 004Ville de Neuchâtel515 013Fribourg/Freiburg515 035Olten
515 006Köniz515 014Interlaken515 036Biel/Bienne
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