Bern, the capital city of Switzerland, will tomorrow (Wednesday 1 November) welcome the first regular TRAMLINK services.

Manufacturer Stadler has been testing the vehicle for several months, and handed the first vehicle to operator BERNMOBIL at an Open Day at the Bolligenstrasse tram depot on Saturday (28 October).

BERNMOBIL ordered the vehicles in late 2019, to replace vehicles that are nearing the end of their useful lives. The order comprises twenty bi-directional vehicles and seven one-way vehicles to be delivered between 2023 and 2025. The first five vehicles are already in Bern.

Stadler has now sold more than 300 TRAMLINK vehicles to operators in fifteen cities, including Erfurt and Rostock (Germany), Gmunden (Austria) and Santos (Brazil), which will soon be joined by Jena (Germany) and Milan (Italy). In Switzerland, the TRAMLINK runs on the Waldenburgerbahn in the canton of Basel-Landschaft, on the Limmattalbahn in the Limmat Valley and on the Lugano-Ponte-Tresa-Bahn in the Italian-speaking town of Ticino in south east Switzerland.

With the last year, Stadler has taken orders for TRAMLINK vehicles for Milan, Geneva and Lausanne.

Bern’s TRAMLINKs have been designed to meet the mobility and infrastructure needs of the city. They are 42.5 metres long and 2.3 metres wide, and carry up to 250 people at a density of four people per square metre of standing space.

The operator describes the vehicles’ exterior design as “elegant” and its interior as “bright, spacious [and] barrier-free”. They have wooden seats and large multifunctional areas for wheelchairs or pushchairs next to the doors.

The vehicles also incorporate a modern passenger information system, rear cameras instead of rear mirrors, and air conditioning that works by measuring carbon dioxide in the passenger compartment to minimise energy consumption. They have a brake assistance system to help avoid collisions, and bogies with real axles for smooth and comfortable driving through the historic city’s narrow streets.

In recognition of these features, the TRAMLINK for BERNMOBIL has been awarded the prestigious Red Dot Design Award 2023.

Ignacio Erce, Operations VicePresident of Stadler Valencia, said, “We are particularly proud to supply Bern’s new trams and to be able to offer its citizens high standards of travel comfort, safety and accessibility.”

René Schmied, Director of BERNMOBIL, added, “With the TRAMLINK, BERNMOBIL now has a state-of-the-art tram fleet that is completely barrier-free. This will make public transport in the city and region of Bern even more attractive and sustainable.”