The BLS RABe 515, also known as MUTZ, is a

class Class, Classes, or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used d ...

of bilevel

electric multiple unit An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number o ...

s manufactured by

Stadler Rail Stadler Rail AG is a Swiss manufacturer of railway rolling stock, with an original emphasis on regional train multiple units and trams, but moving also into Rapid transit, mass rapid transit, High-speed rail, high speed, Inter-city rail, interci ...

for

BLS AG BLS AG is a Swiss railway company created by the 2006 merger of BLS Lötschbergbahn and Regionalverkehr Mittelland AG. Its ownership is divided, with 55.8% of it owned by the canton of Berne, and 21.7% by the Swiss Confederation. It has two ma ...

. It is a second-generation derivative of the

Stadler KISS The Stadler KISS is a family of bilevel rail car, bilevel electric multiple unit commuter trains developed and built since 2008 by Stadler Rail of Switzerland. As of 2016, 242 KISS trainsets comprising 1,145 cars have been sold to operators in el ...

. Formations are composed of four or six cars. They were the first bilevel cars used by BLS.

History

BLS ordered 28 four-car trainsets in March 2010 at a cost of . BLS planned to use the cars on various

Bern S-Bahn The Bern S-Bahn (; ) is an S-Bahn commuter rail network focused on Bern, the capital city of Switzerland. The network is roughly coterminous with Bern's urban agglomeration. Its services connect with those of Lucerne S-Bahn, RER Fribourg, RER ...

routes. The first trains entered service on 19 September 2012. All 28 trains were in service by the December 2014 timetable change. BLS ordered three more trainsets in 2015, also for use on S-Bahn routes. In 2018, BLS exercised an option for eight more trainsets for use on long-distance routes between Bern and and Bern and . Five of these use an extended six-car formation.

Design

The four-car formation is long. Cars stand tall and are wide. The four-car trains have seating for 335 passengers; the six-car trains can accommodate 546. The design speed is . In both formations there are cabs at the front and rear ends. The four-car formation has a single car with split first class and second class seating, with the six-car formation has two such cars. Passengers sit on both levels of the cars. The cars are

low floor Low or LOW or lows, may refer to: People * Low (surname) Low is an English language, English and Languages of Scotland, Scottish surname. It is also a common surname found among Overseas Chinese language, Chinese communities around the world. ...

. Stairs at each end of each car permit access to the

gangway A gangway is a passageway through which to enter or leave. Gangway may also refer to: Passageways * Gangway (nautical), a passage between the quarterdeck and the forecastle of a ship, and by extension, a passage through the side of a ship, an ope ...

between cars and to the upper level.

Operation

, the BLS RABe 515 is used on the S1, S3, S31, and S6 of the Bern S-Bahn, and on the Bern–Biel/Bienne and Bern–Olten InterRegio services.

Naming

It is common practice for railway companies in Switzerland to name their locomotives (e.g.

SBB Re 620 The Re 620, Re 6/6 in the old Swiss locomotive and railcar classification, numbering scheme, are six-axle, electric locomotives of Swiss Federal Railways (SBB CFF FFS), which were acquired as a replacement for the SBB Ae 6/6, Ae 6/6 for heavy ser ...

BLS Re 465 The Re 460, popularly known as the ''Lok 2000'', are a Swiss locomotive and railcar classification, class of modern four-axle electric locomotives of Swiss Federal Railways (SBB CFF FFS), similar to the Re 465 of BLS AG, BLS. Although designed a ...

) and

MUs Mus or MUS may refer to: Abbreviations * MUS, the ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 country code for Mauritius * MUS, the IATA airport code for Minami Torishima Airport * MUS, abbreviation for the Centre for Modern Urban Studies on Campus The Hague, Leiden Un ...

(e.g.

SBB RABe 501 The RABe 501, nicknamed ''Giruno'', is a high-speed electric multiple unit train built by Stadler Rail of Switzerland for the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB). According to Stadler Rail, it was the world's first single-decker low-floor high-speed ...

, SOB RABe 526,

BLS RABe 525 The BLS RABe 525, also known as ''NINA'' or ''Nina'', is a Swiss electric multiple unit built by Bombardier Transportation with electrical equipment by Alstom. The train is principally used by the BLS AG on Bern S-Bahn services, four units (525 ...

BLS RABe 528 The BLS RABe 528, also known as MIKA, is a Swiss locomotive and railcar classification, class of passenger electric multiple unit manufactured by Stadler Rail for BLS AG. It is a derivative of the Stadler FLIRT and began entering service in 2021 ...

). Twelve BLS RABe 515 are named after

communes A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the

cantons A canton is a type of administrative division of a country. In general, cantons are relatively small in terms of area and population when compared with other administrative divisions such as counties, departments, or provinces. Internationally, th ...

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

Fribourg or is the capital of the Cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Canton of Fribourg, Fribourg and district of Sarine (district), La Sarine. Located on both sides of the river Saane/Sarine, on the Swiss Plateau, it is a major economic, adminis ...

Neuchâtel Neuchâtel (, ; ; ) is a list of towns in Switzerland, town, a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, and the capital (political), capital of the cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Neuchâtel (canton), Neuchâtel on Lake Neuchâtel ...

and

Solothurn Solothurn ( ; ; ; ; ) is a town, a municipality, and the capital of the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. It is located in the north-west of Switzerland on the banks of the Aare and on the foot of the Weissenstein Jura mountains. The town is ...

, each displaying also the respective

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

(COA). RABe 515 008 has a special livery.

Notes

References

External links

{{commons category
RABe 515 – Double-decker train "MUTZ"
Stadler KISS Multiple units of Switzerland Train-related introductions in 2012 15 kV AC multiple units