Two more Stadler-built metre-gauge locomotives for MBC
posted on 24th Nov 2025 14:09
Transports de la région Morges–Bière–Cossonay (MBC) has awarded Stadler a contract to build two more hybrid locomotives. These will be fed from overhead line on the rail network and by diesel engines in the gravel pits. MBC will use the metre-gauge locomotives for freight transport on the Bière – Apples – Morges line.
The 64-tonne, 17-metre-long locomotives with a top speed of 80 km/h will have a starting tractive effort of 220 kN and a maximum power output of 3,000 kW. They are also suitable for so-called roll-on-roll-off operation, in which standard-gauge wagons can be transported on special rollers over the metre gauge line. Delivery will take place at the end of 2028.
MBC had already ordered one locomotive at the end of 2024. The new locomotives will replace older vehicles and are part of the cantonal strategy to transport more goods by rail in an environmentally friendly manner. "The shift from road to rail freight transport is a significant step forward for the environment and will reduce traffic on the roads in the Morges district by some 20,000 lorries per year," emphasises Pierre-Alain Perren, Managing Director of MBC.
The locomotives for MBC are based on a common locomotive family developed by Stadler in collaboration with several Swiss narrow-gauge railways. In addition to MBC, the Montreux–Berner Oberland-Bahn (MOB), the Rhätische Bahn (RhB) and the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn (MGBahn) have also ordered vehicles of this type. Thanks to the coordinated approach, the railways benefit from synergies in development, production and maintenance. At the same time, specific requirements can be implemented on a customer-specific basis.
