Talent (train)
From Open Encyclopedia
Image:Otrain.jpg Image:643022 Interior.jpg The Talent is a multiple unit passenger train manufactured by Bombardier. 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 train, with a single bogie placed under the point where two carriages meet, rather than each having its own. 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.
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 is expanded following the project’s success, they are to be replaced with electric trams suitable for use on city streets.
According to Bombardier, more than 260 Talent units are now in use or on order.
Before being acquired by Bombardier, the Talent was manufactured by the company Waggonfabrik Talbot. The name Talent is an acronym in German for TALbot LEichter Nahverkehrs Triebwagen (in English, Talbot light suburban motor-coach).
