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Talent (train)
Encyclopedia
The Talent is a multiple unit
railcar
manufactured by Bombardier
that was developed by Waggonfabrik Talbot
in Aachen
shortly before the company was acquired by Bombardier in 1995. The name Talent is an acronym
in German
for TALbot LEichter Nahverkehrs Triebwagen (in English, Talbot light suburban motor-coach).
It comes in a number of variants, including high-floor, low-floor
, diesel-mechanical, diesel-hydraulic, diesel-electric, electric, and tilting
, and in lengths of two, three, or four carriages. As with most multiple-unit trains, Talent units can run individually, or be coupled together to form longer trains.
The Talent is an articulated
railcar
with jacobs bogie
s. Partially as a result of this, the interior of an entire unit is essentially a single, long cabin; it is possible to see or walk from end to end without opening doors or passing through narrower gangways. The sharing of bogies also means that a Talent unit cannot be easily disassembled or rearranged without the assistance of a railway yard. In those variants whose floor is 590 mm above the rails, this means that the articulation floor is raised, but with ramp access, since it needs to be higher than the wheel diameter, above rail level. in the variants with 800 mm and 960 mm floor height, the floor is flat from the first door to the last. The endsections have a raised floor in all variants, because the traction equipment stored underneath requires more space than unpowered bogies.
After a prototype was presented in 1994, the first Talents entered service in 1996. They are used by mainline railways in Germany
, Austria
and Norway
. More than 260 are in service worldwide.
In a more unusual use, three diesel Talents identical to Deutsche Bahn’s class 643 form the fleet of Ottawa
’s O-Train, a pilot project for public rail transport which was to have given way to electric tram
s suitable for use on city streets until the cancellation of planned extension to the eight-kilometre line. As the Talent is not certified for concurrent shared-track operation with freight trains in North America, freight traffic is not permitted on the O-Train’s route while passenger services are running. Although it is still legally classified as a main-line railway, Transport Canada allow the O-Train to use One-Person Train Operation, with fares collected through a proof-of-payment system.
Multiple unit
The term multiple unit or MU is used to describe a self-propelled carriages capable of coupling with other units of the same or similar type and still being controlled from one driving cab. The term is commonly used to denote passenger trainsets consisting of more than one carriage...
railcar
Railcar
A railcar, in British English and Australian English, is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a train consisting of a single coach , with a driver's cab at one or both ends. Some railways, e.g., the Great Western...
manufactured by Bombardier
Bombardier Transportation
Bombardier Transportation is the rail equipment division of the Canadian firm, Bombardier Inc. Bombardier Transportation is one of the world's largest companies in the rail-equipment manufacturing and servicing industry. Its headquarters are in Berlin, Germany....
that was developed by Waggonfabrik Talbot
Waggonfabrik Talbot
Waggonfabrik Talbot was a rolling stock manufacturer founded in Aachen, Germany in 1838. The company was an early pioneer of self discharging freight wagons, and in the latter part of the twentieth century a major supplier to the Dutch State Railways .In the 1990s the company developed the Talent...
in Aachen
Aachen
Aachen has historically been a spa town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aachen was a favoured residence of Charlemagne, and the place of coronation of the Kings of Germany. Geographically, Aachen is the westernmost town of Germany, located along its borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, ...
shortly before the company was acquired by Bombardier in 1995. The name Talent is an acronym
Acronym and initialism
Acronyms and initialisms are abbreviations formed from the initial components in a phrase or a word. These components may be individual letters or parts of words . There is no universal agreement on the precise definition of the various terms , nor on written usage...
in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
for TALbot LEichter Nahverkehrs Triebwagen (in English, Talbot light suburban motor-coach).
It comes in a number of variants, including high-floor, low-floor
Accessibility
Accessibility is a general term used to describe the degree to which a product, device, service, or environment is available to as many people as possible. Accessibility can be viewed as the "ability to access" and benefit from some system or entity...
, diesel-mechanical, diesel-hydraulic, diesel-electric, electric, and tilting
Tilting train
A tilting train is a train that has a mechanism enabling increased speed on regular rail tracks. As a train rounds a curve at speed, objects inside the train experience centrifugal force. This can cause packages to slide about or seated passengers to feel squashed by the outboard armrest due to...
, and in lengths of two, three, or four carriages. As with most multiple-unit trains, Talent units can run individually, or be coupled together to form longer trains.
The Talent is an articulated
Articulated car
Articulated cars are rail vehicles which are consist of a number of smaller, lighter cars which are semi-permanently attached to each other and which share common trucks. They are much longer than single passenger cars, and on the TGV Réseau, for example, 8 cars are joined this way...
railcar
Railcar
A railcar, in British English and Australian English, is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a train consisting of a single coach , with a driver's cab at one or both ends. Some railways, e.g., the Great Western...
with jacobs bogie
Jacobs bogie
Jacobs bogies are a type of rail vehicle bogie commonly found on articulated railcars and tramway vehicles....
s. Partially as a result of this, the interior of an entire unit is essentially a single, long cabin; it is possible to see or walk from end to end without opening doors or passing through narrower gangways. The sharing of bogies also means that a Talent unit cannot be easily disassembled or rearranged without the assistance of a railway yard. In those variants whose floor is 590 mm above the rails, this means that the articulation floor is raised, but with ramp access, since it needs to be higher than the wheel diameter, above rail level. in the variants with 800 mm and 960 mm floor height, the floor is flat from the first door to the last. The endsections have a raised floor in all variants, because the traction equipment stored underneath requires more space than unpowered bogies.
After a prototype was presented in 1994, the first Talents entered service in 1996. They are used by mainline railways in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
and Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. More than 260 are in service worldwide.
In a more unusual use, three diesel Talents identical to Deutsche Bahn’s class 643 form the fleet of Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
’s O-Train, a pilot project for public rail transport which was to have given way to electric tram
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
s suitable for use on city streets until the cancellation of planned extension to the eight-kilometre line. As the Talent is not certified for concurrent shared-track operation with freight trains in North America, freight traffic is not permitted on the O-Train’s route while passenger services are running. Although it is still legally classified as a main-line railway, Transport Canada allow the O-Train to use One-Person Train Operation, with fares collected through a proof-of-payment system.
Europe
- Austria
- ÖBB
- Germany
- DB RegioDB RegioDB Regio AG is a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn which operates short and medium distance passenger train services in Germany, and operates light and heavy rail infrastructure in the United Kingdom.-Germany:...
- DB Regio Berlin-Brandenburg
- DB Regio NRW
- DB Regio Südwest
- DB Regio Westfalen (starting 12/2011)
- ConnexVeolia VerkehrVeolia Verkehr GmbH is a private operator of passenger buses and trains in Germany. On April 3, 2006, Connex Verkehr GmbH was renamed Veolia Verkehr GmbH, but the sister companies kept their current names....
(Veolia VerkehrVeolia VerkehrVeolia Verkehr GmbH is a private operator of passenger buses and trains in Germany. On April 3, 2006, Connex Verkehr GmbH was renamed Veolia Verkehr GmbH, but the sister companies kept their current names....
)- Nord-Ostsee-Bahn
- NordWestBahn
- Niederbarnimer Eisenbahn
- Ostmecklenburgische Eisenbahn
- Bayerische Oberlandbahn
- eurobahn (Rhenus Keolis)
- PE ArrivaArrivaArriva plc is a multinational public transport company owned by Deutsche Bahn and headquartered in Sunderland, United Kingdom. It has bus, coach, train, tram and waterbus operations in 12 countries across Europe, employs more than 47,500 people and services over 1.5 billion passenger journeys each...
- Regiobahn
- DB Regio
- Hungary
- MÁVHungarian State RailwaysHungarian State Railways is the Hungarian national railway company, with divisions "MÁV Start Zrt" and "MÁV Cargo Zrt" ....
- MÁV
- Norway
- Norwegian State Railways (see NSB Class 93 for details)
- Nordland Line
- Rauma Line
- Røros Line
- Norwegian State Railways (see NSB Class 93 for details)