Talent (train)

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Talent
Talent
Diesel-electric Talent in Germany
Power type Diesel or Electric
DesignerAlexander Neumeister
BuilderBombardier Talbot
Build datesince 1994
Total productionmore than 260
UIC classificationB'2'B'
B'2'2'B'
Bo'2'2'2'Bo'
Length34,610 – 66,870 mm
Axle load12.8 – 14.1 t
Total weight57 – 116 t
Top speed100 – 140 km/h
Power output630 kW (diesel-mechanic)
1.100 kW (diesel-electric)
1.520 kW (electric)

The Talent is a multiple unit passenger train manufactured by Bombardier Talbot 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).

File:Cockpit of an ÖBB 4024 at Mödling, Austria.jpg
The cockpit of an Austrian Talent at Mödling

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.

File:643022 Interior.jpg
As this Deutsche Bahn unit demonstrates, the interior cabin of a Talent is unobstructed by walls dividing the carriages.

The Talent is an articulated railcar with jacobs bogies. 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. In a more unusual use, three diesel Talents form the fleet of Ottawa’s O-Train pilot project for public rail transport, though as the system was to expanded following the project’s success, they were to be replaced with electric trams suitable for use on city streets. This project has been effectively cancelled.

Operators

File:Otrain.jpg
Two Bombardier Talent BR643 low-floor diesel multiple unit trains that are part of the O-Train prototype line in Ottawa Canada

External link

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