Stadler exhibits new sleeping car for Azerbaijan Railways

Stadler and Azerbaijan Railways (ADY) jointly presented today the new sleeping car produced for use on the Baku-Tbilisi-Istanbul international line. To enable cross-border operation, Stadler has developed a bogie with gauge-adjustable wheelsets. The contract allowed Stadler to successfully enter the railway market in Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan Railways awarded the contract to Stadler for the delivery of 30 sleeping cars in 2014. Stadler executed the development and production of the first car within two years in close co-operation with ADY, making it possible to present the vehicle for the broader public at InnoTrans for the first time.

The sleeping cars built for ADY are able to operate both in the CIS states (broad gauge 1520 mm) and on European standard gauge (1435 mm) due to the special gauge-changing bogies. Close to the Turkish border in the Georgian town of Akhalkalaki, a break-of-gauge is planned for switching bogies to enable efficient operation on the international Baku – Tbilisi – Kars – Istanbul line. The bogies are equipped with a RAFIL/DBAG type V system of adjustable wheelsets. These are compatible with other variable gauge systems along the borders of the CIS states, facilitating the use of the same equipment. The cars are conform with the European loading UIC gauge profile. The contract is not only about the delivery of the cars between the middle of 2016 and the middle of 2017, but also includes an extensive spare-part package and the training of staff that will operate and maintain the vehicles. In addition, the contract also includes an option for 70 more units.

Azerbaijan Railways will create three 10-car trainsets from the 30 coaches. The order includes the delivery of 27 sleeping- and 3 dining cars. The sleeping vehicles will consist of 3 first class cars (16 beds, each compartment has its own sanitary unit with toilet and shower) 18 second class cars (34 beds, one toilet and one shower cabin) 3 first/second class cars (20 beds, sanitary units in the first class and family compartments), and 3 special cars (with a spacious compartment for disabled passengers, 4 second class compartments with 16 beds, and a train-master compartment). The 3 dining cars have 28 seats each. As a result, a 10-car trainset will typically include 257 beds. Each car is equipped with a closed-system vacuumtoilet and emergency power system with generator, which makes 24-hours operation possible. All cars are fully climatized with a redundant air-conditioning system.

For the Swiss railway manufacturer this contract was a major step forward, because the deal enabled the successful entry into the railway market of Azerbaijan, a new CIS country for the company. Conquering new markets is a core strategy for Stadler in order to keep its workforce in jobs in the middle run – especially because the euro and debt crisis has swept away the traditional Western European market since 2010. This first success strengthened the partnership between Stadler and ADY, as a following step of which the railway company bought five double-decker EMUs. Two of the EMUs were already operating during the „European Games 2015“ in Baku.

About the Stadler Rail Group

Stadler has been building trains for 75 years. The system provider of rail vehicle construction solutions is headquartered in Bussnang in Eastern Switzerland, and has a workforce of around 7000 based in variouslocations across Switzerland, Germany, Spain, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Italy, Austria, the Netherlands, Belarus, Algeria, Australia and the United States. Stadler provides a comprehensive range of products in the railway and commuter rail segments: high-speed trains, intercity trains, regional and commuter rail trains, underground trains, tram trains and trams. In addition, Stadler manufactures main-line dual-mode locomotives, shunting locomotives and passenger carriages, including the most powerful dieselelectric locomotive in Europe. Stadler remains the world’s leading manufacturer in the rack-and-pinion rail vehicle industry. Additionally, Stadler Service maintains in 16 countries vehicle fleets consisting of over 680 vehicles that cover a combined annual distance of 110 million kilometres.