A breath of fresh air for FART
Ticino rail and bus operator FART (Ferrovie Autolinee Regionali Ticinesi) has awarded Stadler a new contract. They will supply eight custom-made electric multiple-units to the Centovalli railway. The trains will be delivered in time for the metre-gauge line’s 100th anniversary in 2023.
Stadler said the replacement of older rolling stock with modern and efficient aluminum-bodied EMUs complying with current accessibility legislation would allow FART to meet the needs of local public transport users as well as tourists.
Stadler is to supply four 63 m long four-car units with 141 seats and a total capacity of 343 passengers for use on the 52 km cross-border route from Locarno to Domodossola in Italy. Four 49 m long three-car trains with 106 seats and a total capacity of 264 for Centovalli local services in Switzerland.
The trains will have areas for wheelchairs, bicycles and prams, passenger wi-fi providing access to multimedia content, and ‘innovative’ passenger information system.