Modern trains run with pinpoint accuracy and travel reliably and safely under extreme temperatures, in sandy desert regions, or through tunnels several miles long. They combine energy-efficient drives, regenerative braking for power recovery, digital diagnostic systems, and sophisticated fire protection and tunnel safety concepts. This is a highly complex interplay of vehicle and infrastructure technology that, behind the scenes, offers passengers one thing above all: a safe, reliable, and comfortable journey.

Control cabinets play a key role in train manufacturing. Up to 22 miles (35 kilometers) of wire is laid in each train, some of it pre-assembled in divisions such as the Electrical Pre-Assembly at Stadler’s headquarter in Bussnang, Switzerland. Here at the world’s leading manufacturer of rail vehicles with alternative drives and rack railways, control cabinets are produced with control systems, wiring, and testing, taking account of vibrations, pressure differences, and customer-specific designs. In 85 percent of cases, the strands to be wired in the control cabinets are manufactured in highly automated processes. Stadler uses the Zeta 650 from Komax with eight process modules, which can process up to 36 wires without retooling, from batch size 1, and just in time.

The company has been building trains for over 80 years, navigating the multiple challenges of growing mobility needs, strict safety and environmental requirements, as well as rapid technological progress. Stadler offers mobility solutions in railroad vehicle construction, service, and signaling technology, and employs 17,100 people at eight production sites, eight engineering sites and over 80 service locations worldwide. We spoke to Livio Risi, Head of Electrical Pre-Assembly at Stadler in Bussnang, to find out more about the challenges in railroad transport and the manufacture of trains and control cabinets.

Safety is paramount in railroad transport. What does this mean in the context of train manufacturing and infrastructure?
Stadler maintains high quality standards across all divisions. In my division, we provide internal training for electricians to prepare them for the specific needs of the industry. Unlike a tradesperson or domestic electrician, our specialists have to consider the constant vibrations that trains experience when traveling. This leaves its mark. Anything that’s not firmly attached creates friction, which must be taken into account, especially when dealing with cables. Our employees check everything according to the four-eyes principle, then we check the correctness of the wiring and the control cabinet using a testing computer. This is all done internally within the division.

Why is automation an issue in the railroad sector?
The shortage of skilled workers and rising personnel costs are an issue also for us. We rely on excellent electricians, which is why we’re so interested in replacing monotonous tasks with automated manufacturing, especially in cable assembly, but also for reasons of quality assurance. Nevertheless, at Stadler in Bussnang, the main competence center for all tailor-made vehicles, we’ll continue wiring our control cabinet manually in the future. We manufacture special vehicles such as works locomotives, rescue trains, and rack-railroads in small series. We design and build these to be as customer-oriented as possible, although the installation concept is often challenging. In these projects, the control cabinets are complex and non-standardized. That is why they can only be wired manually.

What do you think are the reasons for the currently low level of automation in the industry?
The main reason is that even larger orders are far smaller than, for example, in the automotive industry. A railroad is much more specific than a car, and each order differs from the previous one, for example by a different clearance profile. For major orders, we’re talking about approximately 300 vehicles, not several hundred thousand per series, as is common in the automotive industry. Manual labor is therefore more efficient than automation due to the many adjustments required.

We can and want to automate in certain areas, for example, in cable assembly or welding. Automation allows us to reduce lead time in certain projects, and thus to achieve a productivity increase of approximately 15 percent.

Control cabinets play a key role in railroad transport. What are the key factors, and according to which criteria are Stadler’s control cabinets produced?
The number of control cabinets required in a vehicle depends on the requirements and wishes regarding interior fittings and equipment. For example, it determines whether reservation displays, lights, or power outlets should be installed at each seat, and whether infotainment elements such as screens or internet access are desired. A design concept dictates where the control cabinets can be placed and installed. Our engineering team is responsible for developing an electrical installation plan that’s compatible with the design concept. Control cabinets are housed in various locations within the vehicle, such as in the ceiling area, on the roof, or in the underframe. Approximately 22 miles, thus 35 kilometers of wire are laid in one train.

At Stadler, we make sure that all standards are met. Space and safety are additional key issues, because we are producing a finished product that is powered and transports people. That’s why it’s important for us to develop a high-quality product that incorporates devices and components that meet these requirements.

Where are control cabinets mostly used? In the locomotives, the carriages, or in the infrastructure?
It depends on the vehicle concept. In high-speed applications, we install many components in the framework, i.e. under the vehicle. In standard trains, control cabinets are often located in the engine room, the area behind the train driver. However, we always have a space problem, because all our customers want to be able to transport as many passengers as possible in one vehicle. We therefore always strive to accommodate these control cabinets in such a way that they are easy to maintain and service, but still provide enough space for passengers. That’s the reason why many components are mounted outside the vehicle.

With regard to infrastructure, Stadler has established its own international competence center for signaling technology. The Signaling division is headquartered in Wallisellen, Switzerland, and its portfolio includes solutions in the areas of automated and driverless trains, train protection, and interlocking systems. Stadler doesn’t build tracks or overhead lines, and railroad stations aren’t our area of expertise either.

Which components are currently increasing the demand for control cabinets in trains? Is it the AC, heating, connectivity, or something else?
That’s a difficult question. I would say it’s the complex demands of the customers regarding what needs to be implemented in a specific train, and what that train needs to be able to do. Safety is the top priority, and therefore takes up the most space. But aspects such as electricity generation or recuperation, i.e. the fact that modern locomotives use braking energy to feed electricity back into the grid, have also been a major issue for several years.

The developments over the last 20 years have been remarkable. Previously, trains had standard toilets; today, some vehicles—such as the FLIRT Evo—have so-called vaporizer toilets, which separate the excrement and allow most of it to evaporate. What remains is a final product that can best be compared to coffee grounds. Stadler developed this toilet together with suppliers and partners. It allows the operator to empty the toilet tank only about five times a year, instead of every two days as before.

Boarding a train in different countries can sometimes be a pleasant experience and sometimes a nasty surprise. Where do the most complex requests for trains come from?
We have a broad global presence, and receive interesting and challenging orders from all sectors. In Brazil, we developed the He 4/4, the world’s most powerful rack locomotive for the freight line from Sao Paulo to the port in Santos, and we also built the trains of the Corcovado Railroad up to the Cristo Redentor statue in Rio. We are currently working on a very interesting project in Saudi Arabia, which is particularly challenging due to the heat and the sand. There are several projects involving hydrogen underway in Italy, and in the USA, we have also delivered the FLIRT-H2, a regional train with two carriages and a hydrogen power pack, to the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority.

Last but not least, we are researching and working on projects that offer completely driverless operation. One example of this is the Waldenburg Railroad operated by BLT Baselland Transport AG, which already operates in a semi-automated manner. There must still be a driver present, but they perform other tasks besides controlling the train. The biggest challenge in driverless trains is posed by the hubs, i.e. the train stations. We do still build trains with drivers’ cabs, and don’t expect trains on complex main lines to be completely driverless in the near future, not least because they give a feeling of safety and security. People would probably not trust a train that’s 100 percent autonomous.

What can you tell us about the Zeta 650?
With the Zeta 650, we can feed in twelve different strands, which are also printed during the insertion and cutting process. In addition, we can perform partial insulation stripping, fit five different ferrule crimps, and attach six different Harting pins, i.e. twisted contacts. We can bundle the cables, and the employee can then neatly wire these bundles one after the other. The quality is excellent, and the cables we remove from the Zeta 650 can be reused right away. We are very satisfied.

What’s also great for me is that I can now tell our engineering team that they have enough time to process clean data, because we no longer have to order the strands, but can produce them ourselves. Within one day. That’s a massive benefit. This gives us time to make final changes, check everything again before production starts, and massively reduce the reworking effort.

What level of automation were you able to achieve with the Zeta 650?
If we break it down to the control cabinet, we have an automation level of 85 percent. This means that 85 percent of all strands used in our control cabinets can be processed with the machine. The remaining 15 percent are mainly wires with larger cross sections that the machine does not cover, as well as multi-conductor cables, i.e. those in which several control cables are connected to form one wire. However, these are usually small batch sizes.

Stadler Rail uses WUSTEC’s WIRE Mind cloud software for data processing and production planning on the Zeta 650. How much does this combination contribute to the efficiency of your processes?
WIRE Mind is paramount. The beauty of the WUSTEC solution is that it tells us exactly what information the machine is missing in order to carry out production. We can also add information later if, for example, a bundle number is missing in a connection. With WIRE Mind, you can do all the mapping so that data is compiled in such a way that the machine can use it immediately. And the entire labeling process can also be controlled. We use our E3 software from Zucken to design the diagram and the routing, i.e. the entire installation plan, and can plan the entire process, from the design of the control cabinet to the manufacturing. Importing this data into WIRE Mind allows us to review the orders and then directly assign them to the machine which executes them.

What do you particularly appreciate about Komax?
We have always received extremely competent advice and Komax has always analyzed our needs in great detail. We simply provided Komax with our production data, and their experts suggested the best solution for each project. The evaluation recommended the Zeta 650, which completely satisfies us in terms of quality.

What changes and challenges do you expect in your production in the coming years?
For me, it’s important that we can make even better use of our capabilities and data in engineering. This means that in the control cabinets, strands must be used that can be processed and printed with the Zeta 650. Furthermore, the databases must match so well that errors are completely avoided. My goal is for the solutions developed here in Bussnang to be implemented at other Stadler locations as well. This allows us to benefit across all our sites.

How can the Komax Group support you, and what do you expect from us?
I give input and tasks to every Komax employee who comes to us, because there are still areas where we don’t yet have a solution for automated cable assembly. For example, here, we work with 22-yard wire bundles that connect the control cabinets in the train. We still cut these wires to length manually, at a 22-yard-long table. This is also because we then have to pack these wire bundles into a separate mesh sleeve, which presents the biggest challenge for an automated solution.