A major development for Austrian long-distance rail has been sighted at Stadler’s commissioning centre in Erlen. Georg Trüb states that this is the first Stadler SMILE (RABe 501) unit built for Westbahn. The train, believed to be RABe 501 042, is the first of three unit that Westbahn ordered earlier this year.
The unit remains in SBB-style colours for testing and will receive full Westbahn branding upon arrival in Austria. Further details will be updated as more information becomes available.
Update 08.01.2026 – test runs start
On january 6, 2026, the first new Westbahn train, RABe 501 042 (= 93 85 0 501 042-2 CH-WSTBA), is running as test train 97347 from Sulgen to Romanshorn Seewiesen, between Erlen and Oberaach, for the very first time:
Background information
The three trains for Westbahn will be technically identical to SBB’s “Giruno” RABe 501 001- 041 – the livery is the same, except for the black painted front section:
In March 2025 – a SMILE EMU was presented in the (now old) Westbahn design:
Westbahn recently went through a full rebranding, including a brand new livery that debuted on a new CRRC DDEMU2 unit. The updated design on the SMILE has already been visualised by Westbahn:
