[CH] This is the ‘Worbla’ – the new EMU for Regionalverkehr Bern-Solothurn

A new generation of ‘little mandarin’ trains has arrived in Worb – On 16.08.2018 Swiss passenger operator Regionalverkehr Bern-Solothurn (RBS) officially presented its newest train, that has been named ‘Worbla’. At the end of 2018 the first units will enter revenue service on the lines S7 and S9.

In 2020 RBS will own fourteen new EMUs type Be 4/10 – 4-car units that have officially be named ‘Worbla’. These will replace the Be 4/8 and Be 4/12 (with extra low-floor car) type trains from the seventies, also known as ‘Mandarinli’ or little mandarins).

On 18.08.2018 RBS will present the ‘Worbla01’ officially to the public, then a test program will started to obtain all necessary permits for commercial operation. The future service domain of the new trains:

  • S7 Bern – Bolligen – Worb
  • S9 Bern – Unterzollikofen

Remarkable in the project was that RBS first consulted its passengers and developed a new concept (including exterior design) by itself. Then a manufacturer, Stadler Rail, was contracted to built the trains.

Photo: Regionalverkehr Bern-Solothurn