New firefighting and rescue trains ordered
With the procurement of three new fire-fighting and rescue vehicles, SBB intends to further increase safety in rail traffic. The order, worth 32 million Swiss francs, has been awarded to the Windhoff/Dräger consortium.
The new firefighting and rescue trains will be delivered at the end of 2018 and will then be in service in Zurich, Biel and Olten, as the Federal Railways have announced. With this procurement, the last compositions from the first generations are being replaced, thereby increasing the safety of rail traffic. With the modern vehicles, the crew present on site can manage their mission more efficiently, it is said. This supports the implementation of the new deployment tactics: the crew ensures around the clock that the firefighting and rescue train can move out within a few minutes.
Towing up to 1600 t
Each fire and rescue train consists of a rescue vehicle, a water tender and an equipment vehicle. It reportedly reaches speeds of up to 100 km/h and can tow stuck trains weighing more than 1600 tons. The driver's cab and rescue vehicle are equipped with an autonomous breathing air supply, it said. In an emergency, up to 60 people can be evacuated in the rescue vehicle, SBB further wrote. The fire truck holds 50 cubic meters of water. A foam system is also available if needed.
The three new firefighting and rescue trains are being built by the Windhoff/Dräger consortium in Germany. This consortium has already supplied the firefighting and rescue trains for the Gotthard Base Tunnel. The order, worth 32 million Swiss francs, was awarded as a so-called second option redemption of the contract concluded in 2012, SBB said. From the end of 2018, Swiss Federal Railways will have 17 new-generation firefighting and rescue trains at its disposal throughout Switzerland.
