Stadler will Modernise X2000 Fleet for Sweden’s SJ

Stadler Rail will work together with ABB to upgrade the X2000 high-speed train fleet for SJ, Sweden’s state-owned passenger train company. Since being introduced 25 years ago, the trains have been regarded as among the most comfortable trains in the world. Stadler Rail has signed a cooperation agreement with ABB for this project. A total of 36 trains in the X2000 fleet will be outfitted with new electrical equipment from ABB. Stadler Rail will be in charge of installing this equipment. Stadler’s share of the cooperation totals around CHF 24 million, will be performed at a new location in Sweden and will create a host of new jobs.

Jürg Gygax, Executive Vice President Service at Stadler Rail, is very pleased about the order: “We are very proud to be able to modernise this wonderful train. The order represents a very significant milestone for our service business.” In addition to Sweden, Stadler Rail is active in the service sector in Hungary, Algeria, Austria, Italy, Poland, Norway, Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands.

The X2000 high-speed trains were built at the end of the 1980s by ASEA (one of ABB’s predecessors). The trains offer passengers a great deal of comfort, personal space and service, in part thanks to the vehicle bodies, which are much wider than the bodies of trains used in continental Europe. The vehicles were first used for the Stockholm–Gothenburg route, but were later used on a number of other routes.

Location in Sweden
The upgrade will be performed on 36 of these trains, which have reached approximately the halfway point of their service lives. The vehicles generally consist of a power car, four carriages, one buffet car and one control carriage. The trains will be equipped with new technical components such as converters, transformers and new driver’s cabs. This equipment will be provided by ABB.

Stadler Rail will perform the disassembly of the existing trains, the installation of the new equipment and the static commissioning of the vehicles at a new location in Sweden. This upgrade will significantly increase the reliability and availability of the trains. Furthermore, the X2000 will also be outfitted with a new passenger information system and will consume much less energy. In a second phase, SJ is planning to refurbish the interior of the trains. This phase will have its own separate tender.

The cooperation between ABB and Stadler Rail represents the further expansion of a long and proven partnership between the two companies. Many of the new vehicles built by Stadler Rail are outfitted with electrical equipment from ABB. Stadler Rail will be creating between 50 and 60 new jobs in Sweden. The company has already begun evaluating suitable rental properties.