Norway’s transport minister was in Switzerland to inspect the first Stadler-built FLIRT Nordic Express unit, with state rolling stock company Norske tog calling the late but looming arrival of the first long-distance trains “the start of a new generation” for Norway.
Norway’s transport minister Jon-Ivar Nygård has visited Stadler’s production facility in Switzerland to inspect the first of the country’s delayed long-distance trains now under construction. The visit offered a sneak peak at the new FLIRT Nordic Express fleet after Norske tog acknowledged last year that the programme had slipped by around a year. The trains are now scheduled to enter service from 2028, rather than 2027, after flooding at key aluminium supplier Constellium disrupted Stadler’s production chain.
The Ministry of Transport said production of the first trainset is “well underway” at Stadler as he toured one of the company’s assembly sites in Switzerland. In total, 17 long-distance trains have been ordered to replace Norway’s ageing locomotive-hauled stock on its four main long-distance corridors.
“This is a milestone,” Nygård said. ”With new trains on the longer routes, the goal is to reduce delays and cancellations. Although there is still some work to be done before all the trains are ready, we have seen trains that will lift the experience, comfort and quality to a new level for travelers. I look forward to them entering service.”
Stadler’s FLIRT Nordic Express fleet at a glance
- Operator: Norske tog (Norway)
- Contract signed: March 2023
- Fleet: 17 eight-car trainsets (options: up to 66 more; framework up to ~100 total)
- Cost framework: NOK 8bn (around €680–700m)
- Type: FLIRT Nordic Express, long-distance EMU family
- Traction mix: 13 electric + 4 bi-mode units
- Power system: dual-voltage 15 kV / 25 kV
- Top speed: 200 km/h
- Capacity: up to 542 seats (incl. sleeper capacity in day layout)
- Passenger offer: standard + comfort seating, recliners, 2- and 4-berth sleeping compartments (convert to private seating by day), bistro, family area, large luggage space
- Nordic adaptation: designed for –40°C to +35°C, snow ploughs, heavy insulation, enclosed equipment, strong HVAC with vestibule floor heating; crashworthiness for large-animal impacts
- Where they’ll run: Bergen (Oslo–Bergen) first, then Sørland, Dovre, Nordland (bi-mode)
- Entry into service: from 2028, then phased in into the early 2030s
Bergen first, then national rollout
The first train is planned to enter service on the Bergen Line in 2028, following testing in Norway. The fleet will then be phased in on the Sørland Line, Dovre Line and Nordland Line into the early 2030s.
The trains are branded FLIRT Nordic Express, a long-distance evolution of Stadler’s FLIRT platform, adapted for Norwegian conditions. Stadler previously delivered 150 FLIRT regional trains to Norway between 2012 and 2022.
The March 2023 contract between Norske tog and Stadler includes the 17 firm trains with an option for up to 100 in total, within a NOK 8bn (€708m) framework.
The project has faced supply-chain pressure linked to extreme weather events affecting Stadler’s subcontractors, contributing to the one-year delay confirmed in 2025.