Internationally there seems to be a lively market for new designs of passenger rolling stock with all major companies offering many examples of their latest work. Most designs have their own individual features and each refurbishment seems to include new ideas so the travelling public is being considered more than ever. Eric Russell reports.

To enhance passenger comfort, tilting designs are becoming more popular as train speeds rise. Alstom, for example, says its tilting trains are now established with many rail operators. It has been some forty years since the former Divisione Ferroviaria of Fiat begun to approach the concept of tilting systems and the first EMU in service, the ETR401 was delivered in 1975.
The bogie architecture features low weight per axle and low bogie mass with hold-off pneumatic, tilting rods over a secondary suspension. The control system is also critical. The tilt angle must reproduce the applied Cant Deficiency without any delay although signal processing time is required by the system.
Alstom says an actuation system triggered only by an accelerometer could lead to unneeded tilting because the sensor may be affected by lateral dynamics of the train. So the company uses a fast reacting gyroscope. It also utilises a self-centring capability in case of a fault in the control system. As part of a contract with a Swedish regional train operator, Alstom will supply 55 of its 6-car Coradia Lirex trains. These are easily modified and will be built to meet the unique conditions of Stockholm commuter traffic.
The base requirements include fast acceleration levels, as the stations are close to one another; numerous wide doors, 12 each side with 130cm opening; and a full low floor to ensure fast passenger flow.
Each train can carry around 390 seated and 540 standing passengers and travel at 160km/h. This will significantly reduce travel times compared to the previous 120km/h capability. Trains also have to continue functioning in very variable weather conditions.
Alstom says the Coradia Lirex trains were designed from the outset to be environmentally friendly. The basic platform is a lightweight construction and equipment such as the transformer and electrics, heating and ventilation systems are installed on the car roof to enable a clear, low floor.
The driver's cab is ergonomically designed with its own ventilation and air-conditioning system. The traction system is a modular design that enables easy repair and maintenance and so ensures maximum availability of the vehicle.
Passenger vehicles also have to be designed to suit the infrastructure on which they run. A Bombardier Transportation and Siemens Transportation Systems collaboration, for example, is building 12 Type GT8-100D/2S-M dual-voltage light rail vehicles for the transit authority Verkehrsbetriebe Karlsruhe GmbH.
This design of dual-voltage operation enables seamless inter-running so the train can cope with VBK's 750V tramway system and German Rail's 15kV regional rail network. With a length of 36.8m and width of 2.65m, the double-ended light rail vehicle features 92 seats and standing room for 116 passengers.
Bombardier is also into tilting trains and a consortium of Siemens, Bombardier and Alstom has signed a contract with Deutsche Bahn AG for the supply of 28 seven-car ICET high speed trains. These use tilting technology and are designed for a maximum speed of 230km/h. The trains of the series 411 will be used for German long-distance traffic. The Deutsche Bahn has already 43 first generation electric tilting trains.
Interfleet has recently been involved in a marketing exercise to gain public opinion of various design styles for a Class 508 demonstration vehicle. In conjunction with Angel Trains, the exercise was designed to obtain feedback from transport user-groups and other key rail industry organisations on alternative refurbishment proposals.
The company used virtual reality animated films to demonstrate various design opportunities for both the interior and exterior. The finished mock-up vehicle presents three different interior styles for user feedback, with alternative type seats, different designs for lighting and various decor schemes.
Conventional sleeping berths and two toilets were replaced with a new, enlarged cabin, toilet module and vestibule, all accessible to wheelchair users. The new cabin allows a companion to travel with the disabled customer and boasts a new call-for-aid system and disabled-accessible controls for lighting, door operation and washbasin.
Wide, power-operated doors provide wheelchair access to the cabin and toilet compartment from the spacious vestibule area. Floor coverings were chosen to aid wheelchair manoeuvrability. All controls, handrails and doorways are colour contrasted to assist visually impaired travellers and door controls have additional tactile features. A portable ramp is stored in a new cupboard to provide access for wheelchairs between the vestibule and platforms.
Interfleet also received the £1m contract to convert a Mk3 InterCity TRFK coach into a modern snack car vehicle for Irish Rail. The brief was to apply innovative design to create a modern interior, providing maximum seating with modern catering facilities and a snack counter. Overall, the vehicle conversion involved stretching the bogies to satisfy the wider gauge of Irish tracks; fitment of swing plug doors to replace the slam doors; alterations to the buffer, draw-gear and inter-vehicle couplings; addition of an internal vestibule and saloon power-operated sliding door; modification of the air-conditioning system; and improved access to lighting panels to facilitate easier maintenance and cleaning.

Desiro desire

In the UK, Stagecoach, Angel Trains and Siemens have recently unveiled the first new Desiro Train for South West Trains. The Class 450 series will replace the more than 30 year old slam-door fleet. Notable design features are air conditioning, audio and visual passenger information displays and facilities for disabled passengers.
Considerable research was carried out first and a slam-door train containing data recording equipment took readings from across the southern railway. This train was shipped to Germany to replicate the exact conditions of the UK network on Siemens' test track.
In Spain, Talgo's 350 high speed trains are making their mark. One has broken the speed record on Spanish tracks by running at 359km/h on the Madrid - Seville line. The company says the ride was perfectly acceptable to passengers. Now, RENFE has signed a contract for 16 trains for services on the new Madrid - Barcelona - French border line. The rolling stock features a new design of pressure-sealed car body.
The company has a strong development programme and this has produced a special suspension design for naturally tilting the car bodies on curves. The company says that weight per seat in Talgo trains today is possibly the lowest of all trains in their class, which means major reductions in energy consumption and costs.
Talgo has also developed a system for automatically changing the distance between wheels on axles. This is performed automatically when the train passes over a special installation at a speed of 10 to 15km/h. The installation is 12m long, giving a time of five seconds to carry out the change in wheel distance.
All these new designs in passenger transport seem to appear quite effortlessly but they are the result of a great deal of work behind the scenes. They are also the result of years of experience.

Interior crashworthiness

Meanwhile, an international consultancy such as the consultancy the engineering link has been visiting rail crash sites since 1991 to assess the damage to rolling stock with a view to improving vehicle interior crashworthiness. It now has an extensive database of cause, type and frequency of injury.
The company says that successful design also requires the right design tools and it makes full use of virtual reality software. The consultancy also has an extensive finite element analysis (FEA) facility. This was developed in response to the need to prove the safety of all structures that are to be used on the railways.
Some of this evidence can be obtained by performing hand calculations, says the company, but, on more complicated shapes and structures, hand calculations will not suffice. This is where FEA is vital.
The engineering link is also a strong advocate of using the quality of the passenger environment to increase revenue by encouraging greater passenger numbers. Recent refurbishment of Northern Spirit's Class 158 Transpennine Express fleet included a remodelled telephone area, removal of the lockable parcel section and creation of an open area with tip-up seats and cycle storage.