Swiss Engineering for the Railway of the Future

Rail vehicles are becoming increasingly powerful, energy-efficient and compact. At the same time, requirements for safety, compliance with standards, documentation and system integration are continuously increasing. For vehicle manufacturers, this means that electrical systems must not only operate reliably but also integrate seamlessly into the vehicle’s overall concept.

This is exactly where Bächli AG comes in. With its customised railway boxes, the company develops ready-to-install electrical system units that are far more than the sum of their individual components. The result is well-engineered overall solutions that reduce integration efforts, simplify planning and meet the highest requirements for quality, reliability and energy efficiency.

For more than 75 years, Bächli AG has been developing and manufacturing high-quality transformers, chokes, filters and other inductive components for demanding applications. Today, the Swiss family-owned company supports its customers far beyond conventional component manufacturing – as a development partner for complex electrical system solutions.

At an early stage of the project, Bächli supports its customers in analysing requirements and developing a robust technical specification. Together, electrical, thermal, mechanical and regulatory requirements are defined and translated into an economical, durable system solution.

From feasibility studies and design through manufacturing, testing and complete project documentation, everything comes from a single source. The close cooperation between engineering and production enables short decision-making processes and ensures that practical manufacturing experience directly feeds into product development. This is a decisive advantage, particularly for railway projects involving demanding approval procedures and tight schedules.

Bächli AG’s railway boxes are individually tailored to the respective vehicle concept and can be installed on the roof, in the underfloor area, in the machine room or as a control cabinet solution.

Depending on the application, they can integrate, among other things:

• Transformers
• Line chokes and DC line filters
• Protection and connection components
• Sensors
• Earthing systems
• Cable entries
• Customer-specific electrical and mechanical interfaces 

However, the real added value lies not in assembling different components, but in optimising their interaction. From the development stage onwards, all electrical, thermal and mechanical requirements are coordinated with one another.

This results in compact, tested and ready-to-install system units with clearly defined interfaces. Like preconfigured plug-in solutions, they can be integrated directly into the vehicle, significantly reducing the assembly and integration effort for the vehicle manufacturer. At the same time, they increase planning reliability throughout the entire project.

Every railway box is consistently developed with its intended application in mind. Some projects start with a detailed specification, while others begin with only a few key parameters such as voltage level, power rating or available installation space.

Together with the customer, Bächli AG develops a technically and economically optimised solution based on these requirements. Different concept variants are evaluated, potential conflicts are identified at an early stage and solutions are optimised using modern calculation and simulation methods. Step by step, this results in a system solution precisely tailored to the respective rail vehicle.

Modern rail vehicles place the highest demands on installation space, weight and reliability. That is why Bächli AG considers every railway box as an integrated system.

Electrical design, thermal behaviour and mechanical construction are developed together from the outset. Modern cooling technologies, thermal simulations and FEM analyses allow airflow, heat dissipation, weight and installation space to be optimised as early as the concept phase. The result is compact and durable solutions that reliably meet the demanding requirements of railway operation over the long term.

Transformers, line chokes and DC line filters form the heart of many railway boxes. They stabilise current flows, reduce grid disturbances, improve electromagnetic compatibility and reliably protect power-electronic systems against electrical stresses.

Drawing on decades of experience, Bächli AG develops these inductive components in close interaction with the overall electrical system. This results in durable, energy-efficient solutions offering high operational reliability and optimum performance throughout their entire service life.

In addition to development and manufacturing, testing and documentation are also part of Bächli AG’s scope of services. Electrical tests are carried out in the company’s own test laboratory and documented according to project-specific requirements. For specialised verification, Bächli works together with accredited testing laboratories.

Complete project documentation is another essential part of every system solution. Drawings, circuit diagrams, test reports, bills of materials and other documentation are precisely tailored to the customer’s requirements. This simplifies approval procedures, supports maintenance and retrofit activities and ensures traceability throughout the entire product life cycle. This provides additional project security, particularly for international railway projects.

Today, energy efficiency is far more than a technical feature – it is a decisive economic factor. Low-loss transformers, chokes and filters reduce heat generation, relieve cooling systems and lower operating costs over many decades.

That is why Bächli AG consistently develops its solutions with the entire life cycle of the vehicle in mind. In addition to new projects, the company also supports modernisation, replacement and retrofit projects in order to further develop existing vehicles in a sustainable and economically viable way.

Bächli AG’s railway boxes demonstrate how individual components can be transformed into intelligent, ready-to-install system solutions. By combining engineering expertise, many years of experience and state-of-the-art development methods, Bächli creates solutions that reduce integration efforts, provide planning security and meet the highest requirements for quality, energy efficiency and reliability.

In this way, Bächli AG is consistently evolving from a component manufacturer into an engineering and system partner for the railway industry – with customised solutions developed and manufactured in Switzerland.