Stadler and Baselland Transport to work to automate BLT trams

Baselland Transport (BLT), the regional tramway operator in the Swiss city of Basel, has agreed to purchase the Stadler communication-based train control system NOVA Pro to equip its 38 Tango and 25 TINA trams. The operator has already experienced the practical benefits of this system on it Waldenburgbahn light railway, bringing semi-automated GoA2 operation to this 13.1km line linking Liestal and Waldenburg and achieving 99% reliability. From 2027 BLT line 11 will be used as a test-bed for communication between the vehicle-side and the trackside train control systems using the public mobile network and 4G/5G technology. The migration to NOVA Pro will take place within the existing BLT infrastructure and system landscape of a complex urban tramway network. 

 

Silvio Gemperli, Stadler’s Head of Business Unit Signalling Switzerland said, ‘Building on our long-standing collaboration, this project marks another important milestone in our partnership, for the next 10 years and beyond. BLT is far more than a customer for us - it is a close strategic partner. Together we are developing the network step by step and setting new standards in reliability, automation and innovation. In doing so we are jointly shaping the next digitalised generation of rail transport’. 

 

BLT is owned by the Canton of Baselland and owns the tramway infrastructure of lines 10, 11 and 17 which pass through Basel on BVB (city tramway) tracks.