The RABe 501, nicknamed ''Giruno'', is a high-speed

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 ...

train built 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 ...

of Switzerland for the

Swiss Federal Railways Swiss Federal Railways (, SBB; , CFF; , FFS) is the national railway company of Switzerland. The company was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Bern. It used to be a State-owned enterprise, government institution, but since 1999 it has be ...

(SBB). According to Stadler Rail, it was the world's first single-decker low-floor high-speed train. The trains are intended to replace the ETR610 trains on the trans-

Alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National P ...

route between

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

(Italy) and

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

, with eventually further connections with Germany and Austria. The main route goes through the 57 kilometre-long

Gotthard Base Tunnel The Gotthard Base Tunnel (GBT; , , ) is a railway tunnel through the Alps in Switzerland. It opened in June 2016 and full service began the following December. With a route length of , it is the world's longest railway and deepest traffic tunn ...

. As a consequence, the Giruno is also referred to as the "Gotthard train". The 11-car units operate with a top speed of and can accommodate up to 403 passengers (117 in first class, 286 in second class). Two train sets can be coupled together to accommodate over 800 passengers.

Names

Stadler originally named the train the EC250. This was changed in 2017 to SMILE,"Stadler renames EC250 high-speed train as SMILE."
''railwaypro.com'', 18 August 2017. short for ''Schneller Mehrsystemfähiger Innovativer Leichter Expresszug'' (English: “speedy multi-system innovative lightweight express train”). The SBB have named the train ''Giruno'' (from , Romansh for "

buzzard Buzzard is the common name of several species of birds of prey. ''Buteo'' species * Archer's buzzard (''Buteo archeri'') * Augur buzzard (''Buteo augur'') * Broad-winged hawk (''Buteo platypterus'') * Common buzzard (''Buteo buteo'') * Easte ...

", "

bearded vulture The bearded vulture (''Gypaetus barbatus''), also known as the lammergeier and ossifrage, is a very large bird of prey in the Monotypic taxon, monotypic genus ''Gypaetus''. The bearded vulture is the only known vertebrate whose diet consists of ...

" or "

kestrel The term kestrel (from , derivative from , i.e. ratchet) is the common name given to several species of predatory birds from the falcon genus ''Falco''. Kestrels are most easily distinguished by their typical hunting behaviour which is to hover ...

"). Each of the 31 trainsets is numbered and named. Twenty-six are named after the

cantons of Switzerland The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the Federated state, member states of the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. The nucleus of the Swiss Confederacy in the form of the first three confederate allies used to be referred to as the . Two important ...

, but the numbering deviates from that of the " Gotthard locomotives". Two are named after the

Italian region The regions of Italy () are the first-level administrative divisions of the Italian Republic, constituting its second NUTS administrative level. There are twenty regions, five of which are autonomous regions with special status. Under the Con ...

s of

Liguria Liguria (; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is roughly coextensive with ...

and

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

, one is named after the commune of

Monteceneri Monteceneri is a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Lugano (district), Lugano in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Ticino in Switzerland. It was created on 21 November 2010 through the merger of the municipalities o ...

(because of the

Ceneri Base Tunnel The Ceneri Base Tunnel (CBT; ) is a Swiss railway base tunnel in the Ticino, canton of Ticino. It passes under Monte Ceneri between Camorino in the Magadino Flat and Vezia near Lugano; it bypasses the former high-altitude rail route through the ...

), one after the

Saint-Gotthard Massif The Gotthard Massif or Saint-Gotthard Massif ( or ; ; ) is a mountain range in the Alps in Switzerland, located at the border of four cantons: Valais, Ticino, Uri and Graubünden. It is delimited by the Nufenen Pass on the west, by the Furka ...

and one after the

Simplon Pass The Simplon Pass (; ; ; ; ; ) is a high mountain pass between the Pennine Alps and the Lepontine Alps in Switzerland. It connects Brig, Switzerland, Brig in the canton of Valais with Domodossola in Piedmont (Italy). The pass itself and the villag ...

. The names are indicated at both ends of the train and inside the

dining car A dining car (American English) or a restaurant car (British English), also a diner, is a passenger railroad car that serves meals in the manner of a full-service, sit-down restaurant. These cars provide the highest level of service of any rai ...

Development

In April 2012,

(SBB) issued a tender for 29 new single-deck trains, capable of reaching , for service on routes between

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

via the then under-construction

, the only completely flat route through the great Alpine barrier. Bids were placed by

(Switzerland),

Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational technology conglomerate. It is focused on industrial automation, building automation, rail transport and health technology. Siemens is the largest engineering company in Europe, and holds the positi ...

(Germany),

Alstom Alstom SA () is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer which operates worldwide in rail transport markets. It is active in the fields of passenger transportation, signaling, and locomotives, producing high-speed, suburban, regional ...

(

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

) and

Talgo Talgo (officially Patentes Talgo, SAU) is a Spanish manufacturer of intercity, standard, and high-speed passenger trains. Talgo is an abbreviation of ''Tren Articulado Ligero Goicoechea Oriol'' (English: ''Lightweight articulated train Goicoech ...

(

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

). All four bids were rejected by SBB and a second round took place, at which point Siemens withdrew. On 9 May 2014 SBB announced an order worth for 29 Stadler EC250s. The final signing was delayed, however, as Alstom and Talgo both launched legal challenges: Alstom withdrew theirs in September 2014, while Talgo's complaintthat SBB gave the domestic producer an advantagewas dismissed by the Federal Administrative Court in October 2014. The final contract was signed between SBB and Stadler on 30 October 2014. The EC250's first public appearanceas a short 5-car setwas at InnoTrans 2016 in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, Germany, by Stadler CEO, Peter Spuhler, and SBB CEO, Andreas Meyer. The first full 11-car set was presented at a ceremony in

Bussnang Bussnang is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Weinfelden (district), Weinfelden in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Thurgau in Switzerland. History Bussnang may be first mentioned in 822 as ''Pussinwanc''. Du ...

on 18 May 2017, which was also attended by the then

Swiss President The president of the Swiss Confederation, also known as the president of the confederation, federal president or colloquially as the president of Switzerland, is as ''primus inter pares'' among the other members of the Federal Council (Switze ...

Doris Leuthard Doris Leuthard (born 10 April 1963) is a Swiss politician and lawyer who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 2006 to 2018. A member of the Christian Democratic People's Party (CVP/PDC), she was elected as President of the Swiss ...

. Shortly afterwards in August, the EC250 was renamed as SMILE following a public competition. As SBB intend to operate these trains across several countries, testing had to be carried out in Germany, Italy and

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, in addition to Switzerland. In early April 2018, a test train unit ran through the Gotthard Tunnel at in order to meet approval conditions to operate up to on the line. The

Federal Office of Transport The Federal Office of Transport, FOT is a federal authority of the Swiss Confederation. It deals with public transport in Switzerland, i.e. railways, cableways, trolleybuses, buses and ships. It is also responsible for various aspects of freig ...

approved this service for Switzerland on 4 April 2019 and the European Union Railway Agency approved it for Italy in March 2020in both cases, for speeds up to . The first passenger revenue service operated between

and

Erstfeld Erstfeld is a municipality in the canton of Uri in Switzerland. History In 1962 a collection of four gold torques and three gold arm rings were discovered near Erstfeld. While the exact origin date is unknown, they are likely from the 4th cen ...

on 8 May 2019, using Giruno unit 501 006. In February 2024, Stadler and

Saudi Arabia Railways Saudi Arabia Railways (SAR; ), formerly the Saudi Railway Company, is the national railway company of Saudi Arabia. It is de facto a state-owned enterprise, as it is owned by the PIF. Saudi Railways Organization was a major railway operator i ...

(SAR) signed a contract for the supply and maintenance of 10 DMU trains, with an option for 10 more, depicted on artist impressions using the same cab as the Giruno.

Design

The EC250 is designed to comply with the TSI-High-speed regulations and meets the EN 15227

crashworthiness Crashworthiness is the ability of a structure to protect its occupants during an impact. This is commonly tested when investigating the safety of aircraft and vehicles. Different criteria are used to figure out how safe a structure is in a crash, ...

standards. The cars are connected to

Jacobs bogie Jacobs bogies (named after Wilhelm Jakobs, 1858–1942, a German Mechanical engineering, mechanical Railway engineering, railway engineer) are a type of Rail transport, rail vehicle bogie commonly found on Articulated car, articulated railcars an ...

s and the propulsion system consists of four motorised bogies, powered from four roof-mounted electric current collectors. The electrification system is compatible with the Swiss and German 15 kV 16.7 Hz

alternating current Alternating current (AC) is an electric current that periodically reverses direction and changes its magnitude continuously with time, in contrast to direct current (DC), which flows only in one direction. Alternating current is the form in w ...

(AC) overhead power supplies, as well as with Italian 3 kV

direct current Direct current (DC) is one-directional electric current, flow of electric charge. An electrochemical cell is a prime example of DC power. Direct current may flow through a conductor (material), conductor such as a wire, but can also flow throug ...

(DC) and 25 kV 50 Hz electrification systems. The motorized bogies are reportedly capable of generating a maximum power output of 6000 kW."Stadler EC250 High-Speed Electric Multiple Unit (EMU)."
''railway-technology.com'', Retrieved: 22 May 2018. Each 11-car train set is long and has an empty weight of . Each carriage has a width of and a height of . The wheelbase of the unpowered bogies is , while those of the motorised bogies are . The carriages do not have a uniform floor height as the seats at either end of each car are positioned above the bogies while the central aisle rises towards the carriage connection through ramps. The low-floor entrances allow step-free access from platforms at heights between and and several accessible toilets and areas for wheelchairs are available, allowing the train to comply with the Law on Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities. As a long-distance train, it also features signal boosters for 3G/4G cellular phone networks, power sockets (for Swiss and international plugs) and large luggage racks for passenger comfort, along with energy-efficient lighting. The interior is flexible, meaning it can be extensively refitted and modified to an operator's requirements.

Service

As of December 2020, Giruno units operate services from

and

Chiasso Chiasso (; ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Mendrisio (district), Mendrisio in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Ticino in Switzerland. As Extreme points of Switzerland, the southernmost of Switzerland's ...

and

Lugano Lugano ( , , ; ) is a city and municipality within the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. It is the largest city in both Ticino and the Italian-speaking region of southern Switzerland. Lugano has a population () of , and an u ...

. Services between Zurich and

have also operated since 12 August 2020, and have later expanded to

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

and

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

. The Giruno replaced existing RABDe 500 (ICN) and tilting ETR 610 units on the Gotthard railway, which were reassigned to more winding Alpine routes such as the

Jura Foot Railway The Jura Foot Line (, ) or Jura South Foot Line, is a railway line in Switzerland. It runs from Olten along the foot of the southern Jura range through Solothurn, Grenchen, Biel/Bienne, Neuchâtel, Yverdon-les-Bains and Morges to Lausanne. It is ...

Notes

References