Stadler is a Swiss (not Sweden) company which designed and sold FLIRT trains to Switzerland and many other countries for years. The FLIRT train was originally developed for the Swiss Federal Railways and was first delivered in 2004. FLIRT trains are being operated in Algeria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, the Czech Republic,[3] Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Serbia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States, and, most recently (2018), Canada. As of October 2021, more than 2500 units have been sold.
Stadler Flirts would be great for Amtrak too for regional & short/medium distance services. Plus they could be used as commuter trains for mid size cities like Nashville, Charlotte, Portland OR, Columbus OH etc.
I agree. I think the challenge right now is if passenger trains share track with freight trains they are subject to stricter crash safety standards, which can limit what gets deployed. It seems the mindset of these regulations is softening up, but it still limits what can be procured for the time being.
I was just thinking about the Columbus area (where I live). The tracks that are south of the airport go into downtown in one direction, and through Pataskala into Newark the other direction, where multiple tracks diverge to go to Mount Vernon, Coshocton, and Zanesville, and all of the places I mentioned would benefit from being connected to the others, and something like one of these trains would be great. There *are* freight trains running on those tracks, but nit really that many per day, and I’d love it if the rest of the time could be given over to passenger service. I’d certainly ride them, even though I have a car and a truck.
Europe: Can we please have something other than a FLIRT? They’re everywhere! America: Can we please have a FLIRT instead of a polluting diesel engines from the 70s?
Nah I’m happy with the flirts, in my country there is only one small rail line that uses them, but hopefully soon they will replace the older commuter rolling stock in Madrid or Barcelona
This is probably because Stadler has been around since the middle of the 20th century and, as a Swiss company, has gained a lot of experience in European railway operations. Stadler builds a great many trains for a great many European countries with a wide variety of requirements.
As someone who has spent many years in Switzerland, but currently lives on the Caltrain corridor, I am beyond hyped for Stadler to be the manufacturer of our new trains entering service this year. There really is no other manufacturer making regional rail trains with a better passenger experience!!
Thanks Reece for going behind the scenes for us ! I hope Stadler can FLIRT and KISS more transit agencies. The versatility of the FLIRTS are just impressive and as I have said before the KISS would look so great in GO Transit Livery
The world can thank Norwegian NSB for the 200kmh top speed of the Flirt. They used to only do 160kmh/100mph. But NSB said they would only order trains if they could do 200. So Stadler made a 5 car train with 3 bogies/trucks with motors and not the normal 2. So now the Flirt200 is available for everyone.
@@rowaystarco If you want a real high-speed train from Stadler, look at the SMILE doing 250 km/h. (Or, of course, look at Simens' Velaro that's supposed to be used for Brightline West.)
@@KaiHenningsen yeah it's not a real high speed train, but it's pretty good. On shorter routes, it's quite hard to reach higher speeds before you have to break.
Stadler proves that stringent US safety regulations and modern versatile European design can Flirt successfully. The 7 car bilevel Kiss train are a lot modern than the old bilevel cars, which although being still produced are based on designs from the 1970s and sometimes even older, same for the locomotives which move them. Faster and more frequent services which these trains enable may make people realise that this could actually be a real alternative to the car. Our regional railway operator here in the South of the Netherlands uses Flirt and the somewhat older Stadler GTW and they are perfectly up to the task and ride comfort is good. The seats are better than on Alstom/Bombardier products, but those brands fail in reliability too.
I live in Chicago, and we have a commuter rail system called Metra. The railroad serves Chicago and the surrounding suburbs. Today, the board approved a contract for 16 FLIRT trains. These trains will allow Metra to retire a lot of their older equipment which dates from the 70’s. They will also be the first units to ever operate in the country. Hopefully other railroads can catch on to this equipment and new technology
I’ve convinced many of my friends to ride TEXRail where I live in Fort Worth, and many of them became eager to continue riding it since the experience was so nice. I’m happy that more cities are adopting the Stadler trains as I think they’re the best way to show Americans what’s possible.
Reece, living in Dallas, I can say that DART and Trinity Metro do what they can do to improve things in a hostile environment with a lot of impediments to growth and funding options. A local urbanist and writer ended up on the DART executive board a couple years ago. Quite a nice addition, and helped push for redesigning the bus network for more sensible routes and faster service. I do hope someday the entire region can be connected by transit, then ridership would massively increase. Kind of hard to get a lot more people riding the network when so many cities aren't even part of a transit system.
This is why I'm glad Tarrant County has the TEXRail. The TRE is really showing its age & some of it's stops aren't safe anymore like the stop at Handley Ederville Road in Richland Hills. My grandparents used to live near that stop so I would pick up relatives at that stop when they would fly in either at DFW or Love Field but now with TEXRail, I ask them to take that since there's the Smithfield Station stop & it's closer to my house so I can pick them up on the way to my grandparents or if they landed at Love Field, I tell them to take the bus to the Inwood/Love Field Station, take the Orange Line DART to DFW then take the TEXRrail to the Smithfield Station. Sorry about that being a long sentence.
The problem is state law only allowing so much of a cities taxing to be used, many of these cities have capped their allotment and can't join DART even if they wanted. We need a unified DFW transit agency that covers all of DFW without different fee and fare zones.
@@adambubble73 Thankfully its not quite as bad as Dallas' reputation would have you believe. Theres a lot of park n' rides and stroads and strip malls, but TOD is coming along pretty nicely now, even if the pedestrian environment still isnt great around many of the stations.
Austrian rail operator Westbahn uses Kiss-units for an intercity-like service. They have an interior fit for long distance traveling and reach 200 kph (125 mph). Some of the units were sold to deutsche Bahn and operate as Intercity trains between Rostock, Berlin and Dresden (with one nightly connection to Vienna where the maintenance of the trains happens).
Flirt is a german akronym "flinker, leichter, intercity und regional Triebzug" "fast light intercity and regional train" actually comes pretty close to the german meaning. But flink is actually closer to agile. It doesn´t mean those trains are high speed trains, but that they have a good high speed and accelerate quickly. They were developed to be used in the mountains after all. In Austria Stadler Kiss can have the same travel time on some routes as the faster siemens railjet, because the have a higher acceleration. And Stadler Trains just work.
As much as I like a good Budd RDC, I do have to say that these are really nice... A company near where I grew up is fixing up some old RDCs and I'm really trying to see if my city could use them for connection to the Downeaster. Single car units do still have a place once modernized.
hey, I really appreciate this. I've been waiting for these CalTrain kids to finish electrification for 6 years. Yours is the best video on what's now being tested on CalTrain rails.
Great to see the support for onboard bike storage. Bikes + trains are a great synergistic combo and I wish more urban rapids transit systems would consider this (not just regional/intercity trains). The new Amtrak Empire Builder train that will run from the Twin Cities to Chicago will even have space to store a kayak which is a fun idea.
Thats not completely true. Most Kiss in Germany only do 160 as well. Its the DB ones from Austrian Westbahn that have the 200kph top speed. ODEG, Westfalenbahn, CFL, DB Regio are all 160 kph
@@caw25sha 177 km/h is the maximum speed allowed on routes with level crossings in the US. Stadler would probably build you a 201km/h KISS for the US if you asked them, but you'd need a dedicated right of way to actually run those speeds.
I've just been to Sydney, Australia and I'd like to point out one of the best features of their suburban trains (2 deck carriages): chairs that can be easily adjusted (by passengers) to swap the direction they face. I've never seen this in any of your videos, but it's such a simple mechanism that I can't see why it's not on all suburban train designs.
Texrail Stadler Flirt trains are so nice with the flip down trays and big tables to sit at, charging ports, and bathrooms and all for $5 day pass or only $2.50 one way, the people here that still see the train as more of a novelty and don’t know nice it is compared to most trains
I know FLIRTS from their first commercial use. (I come from the region in Switzerland, where they were developed and first introduced.) These trains are awesome. Nothing super highend, but a plain perfect fit for regional transit. And it's acceleration... WOW, for normal trains, simply awesome.
Living in Germany, I look forward each time to riding Amtrak visiting family between Boston and Baltimore. Although it's a 6* hour journey, the seats are not simply more comfortable than the Deutsche Bahn - they're galaxies far and away more comfortable. Being tall and lean (6'5 and 185 pounds) I appreciate the the cushier seats and the increased leg room. However, I find the windows on Amtrak trains, even Acela, too narrow. The seats on inter-city trains are as hard as chairs in your typical school.
Stadler Class 777 trains have recently started to be introduced on the third rail lines of the Merseyrail network, which is mostly in the Liverpool City Region. The infrastructure belongs to Network Rail, which covers main lines in Britain. I believe these trains are unique in offering level boarding on platforms of standard height. The trains have many other interesting features.
When I saw the start the yellow one I thought that looks like a 777. Anyway onto hearing the bit about how stadler has diesels that are electric ready. I heard that the 777s can be equipped for battery (some already are for Headbolt lane) or overhead power in addition to the 3rd rail, but not both - what I've heard may not neccessarily be correct though. If it is correct even that level of flexibility is useful.
@@sh4dowchas3r You are correct. The third-rail only variant of the 777 is already in operation and a battery version is currently being developed and tested.
Which is weird in itself because the standard British platform height is already quite high with 91,5 cm. In mainline Europe, level boarding using 76cm is really common (with level gangways as well). With 55, level boarding is also common, but I don't think they are fully level.
Another fantastic video, Reece! Congrats on 200k subs! What's funny is that Dallas has had so many issues with the Silver Line getting approval by North Dallas NIMBYs that they had to do anything to get their trains to be quiet as the NIMBYs complained that "it would be too loud" without riding the sister trainsets on TEXRail (which are super quiet).
@@RMTransit TEXRail is a Fort Worth (Trinity Metro) thing- DART has long faced issues with the NIMBYs in Far North Dallas and their councilperson stirring up trouble and generally being obstructionists with everything concerning transit. Silver Line got delayed by yet another year because City Hall kept dragging their feet and taking as much as 290 days to approve/deny designs when they were required by contract to provide approval/denial + comments within *10* days! It's quite a saga.
@@kohiwonomu Didn't the NIMBYs also get the two Silver Line stations in Far North Dallas nixed? I've seen them on earlier maps, but the current plans only have stations in the area in Richardson and Addision.
@@metroidnerd9001 I believe they did. The FND councilperson Cara Mendelsohn does anything and everything she can to sabotage DART. I'm very glad it's an agency not under direct control of the city, otherwise she could do even more damage.
We'd love to have you in Dallas! We're all excited for the Silver Line! If you want recommendations of places to go, we have a huge urbanist community!
I need to see Kiss units in new jersey. Those things would absolutely blow the multilevel EMUs that we're ordering out of the water, and can be a true replacement for the arrow IIIs. Dunno how they want to implement multilevel boarding though, since a lot of electrified territory is still low floor outside of the NEC. If anything, using single level, multidoor Flirts exclusively for LIRR/NEC throughrunning would be absolutely incredible, since there is precedent for Flirts to be Multimodal
For the more niche lines there in North America, the mentioned WINK(wich is an combination of the FLIRT and the older GTW) is mostly the most suitable option. We have them here in the Netherlands, running at the moment on (bio)diesel power with small battery's for when at an standstill. They'll be converted within a few years to completely battery powered trains and they already have an pantograph for use on the wired lines. Extremely flexible, but not immedietly huge trains which are quitte expensive on small or reopened lines.
I do like the FLIRT. Would love to see it running on the "inside" of GO services after electrification, where stops are dense but still spaced out. It would feel much smoother than existing GO, and easier to board tham the bilevels (which I do like for express service or general use on the "outside" of GO lines) Do you think the Flirt would work on the CP Mainline between Pickering and Oshawa? ;)
The problem for GO, is that they need a combination of technologies, and using new cars that are incompatible with the existing, means a split fleet, you just know that doing that means you will be 3 cars short on one type, and 3 cars over on the other type. Better to design a locomotive that can run off overhead catenary or a battery; especially if the battery can be kept charged from the overhead.
@@paulschmidt7473 But there is more than just what the train is powered by, things like seating arrangement have a big impact. The Area between Rouge hill and Union has closer stops with more users than comming out of Durham, for example. A FLIRT (and they could share orders with Ottawa), would do well here. But then, you want the higher capacity and greater seating of a bilevel for express services. That said, Durham has a lot of ToD planned, so maybe that will change and you'll see more regional trips, but I assume for the foreseeable future Toronto is going to be most trips. Also, battery would be great, but some way or another you have to address the last few stops (either now or in the future) that are unpowered. But either way, I'd say good procurement is 3 to many of both train sets.
@@paulschmidt7473 Flirt units currently on order for South Wales Metro are to be Trimode (OLE./Battery/Diesel powered) According to the railway press Stadler are working with University in SLC to adapt Kiss Akku bimode (diesel/ battery) for US regulation compliance.
I’m excited for the Caltrains. The routes is heavily used as a weekday commuter. Bike cars fill up with bikes/scooters and many people have laptops out. Excited to see the train.
@5:37 I like the idea of having one bathroom for each car or perhaps one bathroom for every other car. So long as it's well marked. I don't think I would like one bathroom on the entire train.
Well, I do hope you come out to California to San Francisco. It might be fun to have a get together with anybody who watches your channel who lives in the Bay Area like I do. We definitely have a lot of different types of transit here in the San Francisco Bay area, and getting new things all the time. Fantastic video as always keep up the great work.
Stadler can be found all over Europe and I'm glad to see that those trains also are used now (or coming) to Canada and the US. Amtrak has to make some decisions...
Great video as always. I would love to see you do a deep dive into the coming Stage 2 expansion of the Ottawa LRT lines, and maybe your thoughts on what Stage 3 should look like as well!
What a great video RM - well explained and super informative! So true 8:55 that these trains have great potential to help change public and public officials’ perceptions. I’d love to see a FLIRT operate on the Maryland MARC non-electrified lines. Maybe Stadler can invite new Maryland Gov. Moore out for a visit.
I ride Caltrain 2 times a week, bringing a bike onboard, and I can’t WAIT for the KISS trains to arrive! It’s been a long time coming and I’m super excited to finally ride one sometime next year.
@@RMTransit the Kuala Lumpur air rail link has two rolling stock models similar to the Kiss trains by Stadler, namely the Siemens Desiro and the CRRC Changchun Equator.
Asia is not an easy market for a European company like Stadler, there are powerhouses like Hyundai Rotem, Kawasaki, Hitachi, CRRC, and many other local Asian companies. Nonetheless they have recently won a bid for a metro in Taiwan. And as someone mentioned above they are currently building a factory in Indonesia in a joint venture with PT INKA where they will produce new rolling stock for Indonesia. They have also placed a bid in the Philippines with FLIRTs for a new airport express service, which would be produced in the new factory in Indonesia.
Here in Sweden stadlers multiple units have had quite a lot of problems. The kiss are designated ER1 in Sweden and have earned the nickname Error 1 by some people due to the problems.
I am one of the few people who genuinely likes the older style trains, but of all the modern trains out there, there's just something I like about the Stadler multiple units. I'm so glad that the US is going to be getting these trains, and I hope we get some over here on the east coast.
I can't wait until the new Stadler metro trains are introduced in Tyne and Wear. I hope some at least will be introduced this year. I've seen the quaility of some trains Stadler makes, so I do hope our new ones are just as good if not better than some other trains.
When I was in Toronto a few weeks back, I rode go transit a couple different times and yeah you’re right those bombardier cars are different than the cars I know in California where I’m from. Metrolink (Los Angeles) ACE (Stockton) Caltrain (San Francisco) have the original design I found out that ACE, acquired a set of the new series 9 cars very similar to the cab car of co-transit
You are not correct about the KISS's "alternative compliance." Stadler and CalTrain had to apply for an FRA waiver that allowed the design to bypass crash regulations, because no off-the-shelf European design meets them. The Avelia Liberty and other European trains that are now being bought are made possible by the fact those regulations were dropped now that US railroads are forced to adopt PTC - this happened after the KISS order was placed though. The Talgos used on Amtrak's Cascades service went through this process too in the 1990s.
Speaking of CalTrain's Stadler KISS EMU's, recently one of them ran under it's own power on a small part of CalTrain's line. (The electric lines aren't yet finished and they need to do a full testing of the system before they're in revenue service, but they still powered up a small section of the line and ran it).
If I remember correctly, Stadler had to get a special exemption from the Federal Railroad Administration to operate the KISS electric trains on the Caltrain route. Which was not that hard to do given that very few freight trains operate on the former Southern Pacific Peninsula Line.
One thing that isn't covered a lot, even in more train-focused circles is the CalTrain electrification upgrades that are going on right now to operate these FLIRTs. The upgrade program is very good for future transit expansions to San Jose and also allows for the Bay Area to be even more connected.
I disagree that 1 bathroom per train is an improvement over the multiple bathrooms in the GO trains. If that bathroom is occupied and you need to go…. Well you’ll wish there was more than 1!
Yeah, while I agree that you don't need a bathroom in every car for a regional train, a seven car train should have at least three bathrooms (or two if the cars are short).
Great video! You mentioned Philadelphia as a potential location for newer Stadler trains. I can't see that happening for at least a decade or perhaps longer as SEPTA purchased about a 100 Silverliner V cars. Yes, SEPTA still has hundreds of ancient Silverliner IV cars that need to be replaced but I can't see them purchasing a new type of flee. They should and may do so, I just don't see it.
Dallas resident, we try our best and honestly aren’t horrible considering it’s the US. Wish it was a bit more expansionist as always but I’ll take what I can get
Funnily enough that's been the biggest problem with DART. The service area is gigantic (not for the size of the metro area but its still pretty extensive) but the quality of the service has wasn't great. Now DART is going to finish the Silver Line, then not do any more expansions on the rail network for a decade or 2 and focus almost exclusively on improving frequency and service quality on all of its train and bus routes. Oh, and lots of TOD is in the works too.
I have been looking at stadler trains recently. And what I noticed, customer happines with stadler trains varies a loooot depending on country and operator. Which just shows the level of customisation stadler offers. You have Regions where people don't really like them, and then you have other Regions where people love em. Which i find kinda interesting
I hear most complaints from customers of regional German operators. One reason could be that they tend to order rather cheaply equipped high capacity models. Another one that the network reliability in Germany is pretty low currently, and it's easier for customers to blame the train than to notice the bad track quality that makes the ride bumpy and slows the trains down.
Excellent overview and I can see NJ Transit or SEPTA ordering dual mode Stadler FLIRT by using the British version as the basis Class 755 keep in mind they have to be two door configuration because of low-level platforms the major cities having high level platforms 1.21m 48 inches above the rail. The train shells are made in Europe but finished in the United States this was said in a San Francisco Bay Area San Jose Mercury newspaper article
Dallas has just started the process of designing the successor to it's current SLRVs, hopefully light metro style trains are chosen for the system. New trains, Silver Line, and the new D2 Subway should breathe some new positive life into our public transit'S image. :)
Stadler seems to have a nice lineup of trains. I would absolutely love to see some interurban train services return to the Midwest. Around Chicago we have tons of track that is currently freight only and these sets would be great contenders for connecting the region more.
I will note that CAHSR did set their high door platforms at the Caltrain high platform height, but to my understanding, due to their wishes to use fare gates (which Caltrain does not use), Caltrain is currently considering merely running its trains to separated platforms. They hhave not set this in stone entirely, and the Salesforce Transit Center is to be all high platform since CAHSR and Caltrain were to share all tracks, but it is to be seen how Caltrain handles this. Also to note is that the surface 4th & King Street station will be used to terminate some Caltrain service even when DTX opens, while CAHSR intends to leave it, so it's possible that the high platforms would be useful for that station.
I love TransLink and the Broadway Subway is going to be great (plus talk of the UBC extension and North Shore Skytrain lines is exciting), but I wish someone in Vancouver would be talking about a comprehensive suburban rail system using FLIRTs. Especially with Ottawa, Montreal, and Toronto all overhauling their suburban rail systems, it seems wild to me that TransLink isn’t even looking in to upgrading the trains on the current West Coast Express which is antiquated and only runs 4 trains a day on weekdays in peak directions. I know there are issues interacting with freight companies, but that always seems so narrow-minded to me. . .
In New Jersey Transit, the newer bilevel cars don't have overhead luggage racks, although the older trains do. When I go into Newark International, I always hope I get an older train.
The Flirt is as normal to me, as a Chevron gas station to Americans 😂 On a more serious note: I really like Stadler's new Giruno SBB trains. These first class cabins feel like being on an Emirates airplane
I'd love to see Metrolink adopt more FLIRTs in Los Angeles and Orange County soon. Especially for the Antelope Valley line and the San Bernandino Line.
6:01 I've been trying to find what Caltrain's bike car plans were with the EMUs. Thanks for your reporting on this Very Important Subject. The current diesel sets have 2 types of bike cars--one with the bottom deck full of bikes like the Stadler car you filmed. These are great, though seating downstairs near the bikes is limited. The bombardier bike cars, on the other hand, only fit about half as many bikes. Plus, the racks are split into 2 separate areas, making it awkward to shuffle bikes around in the limited space. These cars seem to always house the larger bathrooms, too. So the afternoon commute is like riding in a port-a-potty. I'm so looking forward to 2024 when the EMUs supposedly enter service.
The implementation of the Dart lines in the North Texas area is seems great, but awful in practicality. A car in rush hour traffic going from Denton to Deep Elum in Dallas can beat out the train by anywhere from 30 minutes to nearly an hour.
I used the TRE and DART rail on my way to work in downtown Dallas for almost 15 years, it was beautiful. I wish the DART and TRE spread all over the metroplex. I would use it daily.
Probably way too early, but the Interboro Express between Brooklyn and Queens could look at Stadler. Also since it’s not going into the Bronx, maybe they could extend it up to the Grand Central Parkway, then turn right, run above the median and down to LaGuardia to finally have a useful AirTrain that also connects to MANY subway stations not just one like the JFK AirTrain.
Like having the IBX run with multiple units? Cause I thought they were going with the Light Rail option, though they do have the Variobahn & Tango option with the latter able to be high floor for more capacity.
Hell, Hannover has 8 door three car units for actual S-Bahn service and the ottawa layout without diesel pack is used all over CH for S-Bahn and regio services… Also, there’s plenty of KISS and FLIRT models rated for 125mph too…
Excuse me sir that is New Jersey not New York. i will not take this slander that we would have a place as boring as the meadowlands in our state. All joking aside great video. It would be dope if the NYC metro area could get trains half as nice as these Edit: wait lol you put the same station as the right state this time when you showed it later in the video
Love seeing the FLIRT getting adopted in North America. They’re a wonderful platform and very reliable here in the Netherlands.
Yeah, it’s really exciting that we are getting something so similar to what is seen in Europe
Been serving Norway pretty well too, looking forward to getting brand new long range Sleeper FLIRTS from 2026. The first renders look pretty good.
They have been doing pretty well here in britain as well.
Atleast in their current operating area in Anglea.
The driving experience on the NS FLIRT trains is incredible as well!👏🏻
Yes unless when it rains, slips hella hard lol
Stadler is a Swiss (not Sweden) company which designed and sold FLIRT trains to Switzerland and many other countries for years. The FLIRT train was originally developed for the Swiss Federal Railways and was first delivered in 2004. FLIRT trains are being operated in Algeria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, the Czech Republic,[3] Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Serbia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States, and, most recently (2018), Canada. As of October 2021, more than 2500 units have been sold.
Stadler Flirts would be great for Amtrak too for regional & short/medium distance services. Plus they could be used as commuter trains for mid size cities like Nashville, Charlotte, Portland OR, Columbus OH etc.
I agree they really could work well in a lot of places
I agree. I think the challenge right now is if passenger trains share track with freight trains they are subject to stricter crash safety standards, which can limit what gets deployed. It seems the mindset of these regulations is softening up, but it still limits what can be procured for the time being.
I was just thinking about the Columbus area (where I live). The tracks that are south of the airport go into downtown in one direction, and through Pataskala into Newark the other direction, where multiple tracks diverge to go to Mount Vernon, Coshocton, and Zanesville, and all of the places I mentioned would benefit from being connected to the others, and something like one of these trains would be great. There *are* freight trains running on those tracks, but nit really that many per day, and I’d love it if the rest of the time could be given over to passenger service. I’d certainly ride them, even though I have a car and a truck.
In the mean time, their modern Siemens train sets aren't exactly bad, either.
@@mmmttttdddd as discussed in the video, these trains are able to comply with the standards.
Europe: Can we please have something other than a FLIRT? They’re everywhere! America: Can we please have a FLIRT instead of a polluting diesel engines from the 70s?
Nah I’m happy with the flirts, in my country there is only one small rail line that uses them, but hopefully soon they will replace the older commuter rolling stock in Madrid or Barcelona
@@angelgames9351 Ojo! No hay FLIRT en España (todavía), los de FGC son Stadler GTW
FLIRT is fine, even for Europe.
@@faolitaruna and this is why it’s so great to have them in North America!
Stop flirting with us! Fresh! 😆
A new video already, and on Stadler, the best train manafacturer in the US, can't get enough of this.
Thanks for watching!
This is probably because Stadler has been around since the middle of the 20th century and, as a Swiss company, has gained a lot of experience in European railway operations. Stadler builds a great many trains for a great many European countries with a wide variety of requirements.
As someone who has spent many years in Switzerland, but currently lives on the Caltrain corridor, I am beyond hyped for Stadler to be the manufacturer of our new trains entering service this year. There really is no other manufacturer making regional rail trains with a better passenger experience!!
Thanks Reece for going behind the scenes for us ! I hope Stadler can FLIRT and KISS more transit agencies. The versatility of the FLIRTS are just impressive and as I have said before the KISS would look so great in GO Transit Livery
It would look good but it couldn't serve the fringe stations.
@@neolithictransitrevolution427 a flirt certainly could!
Welp we already have Alstom on board, but that doesn't stop us from making new services.
@catermelony Have you seen those facades? Would 🥵
I think Dallas is underrated for its rail. DART is growing and pretty good for the size of the city.
Stadler is really the company, that builds you, what ever you want. That's how they got big and popular. Great stuff!
I just watched your clip of a KISS running through Zurich Altstetten station while riding on a KISS running through Zurich Altstetten 😅
The world can thank Norwegian NSB for the 200kmh top speed of the Flirt. They used to only do 160kmh/100mph. But NSB said they would only order trains if they could do 200. So Stadler made a 5 car train with 3 bogies/trucks with motors and not the normal 2. So now the Flirt200 is available for everyone.
Yes, it’s very good that this is an option. It really increases the flexibility of what was already a very flexible train!
200kmh is a pretty good compromise for a train. Giving you a high speed rail light! The Flirt is great.
@@rowaystarco If you want a real high-speed train from Stadler, look at the SMILE doing 250 km/h. (Or, of course, look at Simens' Velaro that's supposed to be used for Brightline West.)
@@KaiHenningsen yeah it's not a real high speed train, but it's pretty good. On shorter routes, it's quite hard to reach higher speeds before you have to break.
@@rowaystarco the KISS and FLIRT are very much heavy rail.
Aye Dallas got a mention!!!! Whoo
Stadler proves that stringent US safety regulations and modern versatile European design can Flirt successfully. The 7 car bilevel Kiss train are a lot modern than the old bilevel cars, which although being still produced are based on designs from the 1970s and sometimes even older, same for the locomotives which move them. Faster and more frequent services which these trains enable may make people realise that this could actually be a real alternative to the car.
Our regional railway operator here in the South of the Netherlands uses Flirt and the somewhat older Stadler GTW and they are perfectly up to the task and ride comfort is good. The seats are better than on Alstom/Bombardier products, but those brands fail in reliability too.
FLIRTS are used on everything from intercity express services to the FGC lines of the Barcelona metro, it’s incredible
I live in Chicago, and we have a commuter rail system called Metra. The railroad serves Chicago and the surrounding suburbs. Today, the board approved a contract for 16 FLIRT trains. These trains will allow Metra to retire a lot of their older equipment which dates from the 70’s. They will also be the first units to ever operate in the country. Hopefully other railroads can catch on to this equipment and new technology
Wog from antique eqipmet to the best
I’ve convinced many of my friends to ride TEXRail where I live in Fort Worth, and many of them became eager to continue riding it since the experience was so nice. I’m happy that more cities are adopting the Stadler trains as I think they’re the best way to show Americans what’s possible.
Reece, living in Dallas, I can say that DART and Trinity Metro do what they can do to improve things in a hostile environment with a lot of impediments to growth and funding options. A local urbanist and writer ended up on the DART executive board a couple years ago. Quite a nice addition, and helped push for redesigning the bus network for more sensible routes and faster service. I do hope someday the entire region can be connected by transit, then ridership would massively increase. Kind of hard to get a lot more people riding the network when so many cities aren't even part of a transit system.
This is why I'm glad Tarrant County has the TEXRail. The TRE is really showing its age & some of it's stops aren't safe anymore like the stop at Handley Ederville Road in Richland Hills. My grandparents used to live near that stop so I would pick up relatives at that stop when they would fly in either at DFW or Love Field but now with TEXRail, I ask them to take that since there's the Smithfield Station stop & it's closer to my house so I can pick them up on the way to my grandparents or if they landed at Love Field, I tell them to take the bus to the Inwood/Love Field Station, take the Orange Line DART to DFW then take the TEXRrail to the Smithfield Station. Sorry about that being a long sentence.
The problem is state law only allowing so much of a cities taxing to be used, many of these cities have capped their allotment and can't join DART even if they wanted. We need a unified DFW transit agency that covers all of DFW without different fee and fare zones.
Do you have the name of the urbanist that was added to the board?
Biggest problem is theres nothing to take the train to if its all strip malls and 6 lane stroads around the stations
@@adambubble73 Thankfully its not quite as bad as Dallas' reputation would have you believe. Theres a lot of park n' rides and stroads and strip malls, but TOD is coming along pretty nicely now, even if the pedestrian environment still isnt great around many of the stations.
One of the best Trains in the World. The most beautiful FLIRT i've seen is the Traverso from a swiss Operator SOB.
Austrian rail operator Westbahn uses Kiss-units for an intercity-like service. They have an interior fit for long distance traveling and reach 200 kph (125 mph). Some of the units were sold to deutsche Bahn and operate as Intercity trains between Rostock, Berlin and Dresden (with one nightly connection to Vienna where the maintenance of the trains happens).
some untits of Deutsche Bahn are actually also on the InterCity between Zürich ans Stuttgart 😊
Flirt is a german akronym "flinker, leichter, intercity und regional Triebzug"
"fast light intercity and regional train" actually comes pretty close to the german meaning.
But flink is actually closer to agile. It doesn´t mean those trains are high speed trains, but that they have a good high speed and accelerate quickly.
They were developed to be used in the mountains after all.
In Austria Stadler Kiss can have the same travel time on some routes as the faster siemens railjet, because the have a higher acceleration.
And Stadler Trains just work.
As much as I like a good Budd RDC, I do have to say that these are really nice...
A company near where I grew up is fixing up some old RDCs and I'm really trying to see if my city could use them for connection to the Downeaster. Single car units do still have a place once modernized.
hey, I really appreciate this. I've been waiting for these CalTrain kids to finish electrification for 6 years. Yours is the best video on what's now being tested on CalTrain rails.
Road the Caltrain EMUthis weekend and it was amazing!
Great to see the support for onboard bike storage. Bikes + trains are a great synergistic combo and I wish more urban rapids transit systems would consider this (not just regional/intercity trains). The new Amtrak Empire Builder train that will run from the Twin Cities to Chicago will even have space to store a kayak which is a fun idea.
5:03
KISSes used in Germany and Austria actually go up to 200 km/h, maybe this is different for the trains used in America.
Might be a limitation of the signalling system or track rather than the trains.
Thats not completely true. Most Kiss in Germany only do 160 as well. Its the DB ones from Austrian Westbahn that have the 200kph top speed. ODEG, Westfalenbahn, CFL, DB Regio are all 160 kph
@@caw25sha 177 km/h is the maximum speed allowed on routes with level crossings in the US. Stadler would probably build you a 201km/h KISS for the US if you asked them, but you'd need a dedicated right of way to actually run those speeds.
It just depends on the particular model! The Caltrain ones cannot, but they can get close.
@@b127_1 That makes a lot of sense. Thanks for the information :)
I've just been to Sydney, Australia and I'd like to point out one of the best features of their suburban trains (2 deck carriages): chairs that can be easily adjusted (by passengers) to swap the direction they face.
I've never seen this in any of your videos, but it's such a simple mechanism that I can't see why it's not on all suburban train designs.
Dallas with the silencer option but as soon a trainstation will be approached, the train have more sirens, horns as a emergency vehicel. 😂😂😂
Texrail Stadler Flirt trains are so nice with the flip down trays and big tables to sit at, charging ports, and bathrooms and all for $5 day pass or only $2.50 one way, the people here that still see the train as more of a novelty and don’t know nice it is compared to most trains
I know FLIRTS from their first commercial use. (I come from the region in Switzerland, where they were developed and first introduced.)
These trains are awesome. Nothing super highend, but a plain perfect fit for regional transit. And it's acceleration... WOW, for normal trains, simply awesome.
SLC really is guiding others to a treasure they cannot possess (until they replace the FrontRunner with FLIRTs)
Why would anyone dislike FLIRT? It's flirt, dammit! Like in a good pickup line...One that's likely to end with a kiss...
It’s a very likeable train!
Living in Germany, I look forward each time to riding Amtrak visiting family between Boston and Baltimore. Although it's a 6* hour journey, the seats are not simply more comfortable than the Deutsche Bahn - they're galaxies far and away more comfortable. Being tall and lean (6'5 and 185 pounds) I appreciate the the cushier seats and the increased leg room. However, I find the windows on Amtrak trains, even Acela, too narrow. The seats on inter-city trains are as hard as chairs in your typical school.
Stadler Class 777 trains have recently started to be introduced on the third rail lines of the Merseyrail network, which is mostly in the Liverpool City Region. The infrastructure belongs to Network Rail, which covers main lines in Britain. I believe these trains are unique in offering level boarding on platforms of standard height. The trains have many other interesting features.
When I saw the start the yellow one I thought that looks like a 777. Anyway onto hearing the bit about how stadler has diesels that are electric ready. I heard that the 777s can be equipped for battery (some already are for Headbolt lane) or overhead power in addition to the 3rd rail, but not both - what I've heard may not neccessarily be correct though. If it is correct even that level of flexibility is useful.
Part of the Stadler Metro family, also coming to Glasgow Subway and Tyne & Wear Metro.
The smaller Class 555's are starting soon on T&W metro and for a light rail network they look like a heavy rail train.
@@sh4dowchas3r You are correct. The third-rail only variant of the 777 is already in operation and a battery version is currently being developed and tested.
Which is weird in itself because the standard British platform height is already quite high with 91,5 cm. In mainline Europe, level boarding using 76cm is really common (with level gangways as well). With 55, level boarding is also common, but I don't think they are fully level.
Love to hear ideas for what info is useful for riders on the digital screens for Caltrain Stadler trains.
Another fantastic video, Reece! Congrats on 200k subs!
What's funny is that Dallas has had so many issues with the Silver Line getting approval by North Dallas NIMBYs that they had to do anything to get their trains to be quiet as the NIMBYs complained that "it would be too loud" without riding the sister trainsets on TEXRail (which are super quiet).
Thanks! I’m surprised they still had so many issues with TexRail being right there!
@@RMTransit TEXRail is a Fort Worth (Trinity Metro) thing- DART has long faced issues with the NIMBYs in Far North Dallas and their councilperson stirring up trouble and generally being obstructionists with everything concerning transit. Silver Line got delayed by yet another year because City Hall kept dragging their feet and taking as much as 290 days to approve/deny designs when they were required by contract to provide approval/denial + comments within *10* days! It's quite a saga.
@@kohiwonomu Didn't the NIMBYs also get the two Silver Line stations in Far North Dallas nixed? I've seen them on earlier maps, but the current plans only have stations in the area in Richardson and Addision.
@@metroidnerd9001 I believe they did. The FND councilperson Cara Mendelsohn does anything and everything she can to sabotage DART. I'm very glad it's an agency not under direct control of the city, otherwise she could do even more damage.
Looking at you, Cara Mendehlson...
We'd love to have you in Dallas! We're all excited for the Silver Line! If you want recommendations of places to go, we have a huge urbanist community!
I need to see Kiss units in new jersey. Those things would absolutely blow the multilevel EMUs that we're ordering out of the water, and can be a true replacement for the arrow IIIs. Dunno how they want to implement multilevel boarding though, since a lot of electrified territory is still low floor outside of the NEC. If anything, using single level, multidoor Flirts exclusively for LIRR/NEC throughrunning would be absolutely incredible, since there is precedent for Flirts to be Multimodal
For the more niche lines there in North America, the mentioned WINK(wich is an combination of the FLIRT and the older GTW) is mostly the most suitable option. We have them here in the Netherlands, running at the moment on (bio)diesel power with small battery's for when at an standstill. They'll be converted within a few years to completely battery powered trains and they already have an pantograph for use on the wired lines. Extremely flexible, but not immedietly huge trains which are quitte expensive on small or reopened lines.
I do like the FLIRT. Would love to see it running on the "inside" of GO services after electrification, where stops are dense but still spaced out. It would feel much smoother than existing GO, and easier to board tham the bilevels (which I do like for express service or general use on the "outside" of GO lines)
Do you think the Flirt would work on the CP Mainline between Pickering and Oshawa? ;)
The problem for GO, is that they need a combination of technologies, and using new cars that are incompatible with the existing, means a split fleet, you just know that doing that means you will be 3 cars short on one type, and 3 cars over on the other type. Better to design a locomotive that can run off overhead catenary or a battery; especially if the battery can be kept charged from the overhead.
@@paulschmidt7473 But there is more than just what the train is powered by, things like seating arrangement have a big impact. The Area between Rouge hill and Union has closer stops with more users than comming out of Durham, for example. A FLIRT (and they could share orders with Ottawa), would do well here. But then, you want the higher capacity and greater seating of a bilevel for express services. That said, Durham has a lot of ToD planned, so maybe that will change and you'll see more regional trips, but I assume for the foreseeable future Toronto is going to be most trips.
Also, battery would be great, but some way or another you have to address the last few stops (either now or in the future) that are unpowered.
But either way, I'd say good procurement is 3 to many of both train sets.
Honestly I think GO will have a big enough fleet to justify both
@@RMTransit And if they don't they'll just have to expand their fleet with more services in London, Kitchener -Guelph -waterloo, and Niagara region.
@@paulschmidt7473 Flirt units currently on order for South Wales Metro are to be Trimode (OLE./Battery/Diesel powered)
According to the railway press Stadler are working with University in SLC to adapt Kiss Akku bimode (diesel/ battery) for US regulation compliance.
Why haven't these caught on everywhere in the US?
The US is very fortunate to have such a generous loading gauge. These things are huge.
I’m excited for the Caltrains. The routes is heavily used as a weekday commuter. Bike cars fill up with bikes/scooters and many people have laptops out. Excited to see the train.
Thank you for your dedication to this important topic👍
@5:37 I like the idea of having one bathroom for each car or perhaps one bathroom for every other car. So long as it's well marked. I don't think I would like one bathroom on the entire train.
Well, I do hope you come out to California to San Francisco. It might be fun to have a get together with anybody who watches your channel who lives in the Bay Area like I do. We definitely have a lot of different types of transit here in the San Francisco Bay area, and getting new things all the time. Fantastic video as always keep up the great work.
Stadler can be found all over Europe and I'm glad to see that those trains also are used now (or coming) to Canada and the US. Amtrak has to make some decisions...
Great video as always. I would love to see you do a deep dive into the coming Stage 2 expansion of the Ottawa LRT lines, and maybe your thoughts on what Stage 3 should look like as well!
Stadler are going to build Kiwi Rail's new diesel locomotives, pity we didn't use them earlier for DMUs - these look really nice!
Yeah, I remember that the locomotives look pretty good!
The Caltrain emus are in service, and the trains themselves are good but the seats are so uncomfortable
What a great video RM - well explained and super informative! So true 8:55 that these trains have great potential to help change public and public officials’ perceptions. I’d love to see a FLIRT operate on the Maryland MARC non-electrified lines. Maybe Stadler can invite new Maryland Gov. Moore out for a visit.
I ride Caltrain 2 times a week, bringing a bike onboard, and I can’t WAIT for the KISS trains to arrive! It’s been a long time coming and I’m super excited to finally ride one sometime next year.
The Caltrain has great wifi as its part of the bay area and many work while traveling
Stadler trains really are great! High reliability, quick accelerations, nice looking and they can build almost everything the customer asks!
one of the train of all time
Congrats on 200k subs!!
Your loyal reader from Taiwan
Thank you very much!
Gotta love the flexibility of train configuragtin by Stadler, but I wonder if it could build similar trains for Asia?
For sure! I think the Kuala Lumpur air rail link uses something similar?
Stadler and the Indonesian rail vehicle manufacturer PT INKA signed a joint venture contract in 2019. So they are active in Asia area. :)
@@RMTransit the Kuala Lumpur air rail link has two rolling stock models similar to the Kiss trains by Stadler, namely the Siemens Desiro and the CRRC Changchun Equator.
Asia is not an easy market for a European company like Stadler, there are powerhouses like Hyundai Rotem, Kawasaki, Hitachi, CRRC, and many other local Asian companies. Nonetheless they have recently won a bid for a metro in Taiwan. And as someone mentioned above they are currently building a factory in Indonesia in a joint venture with PT INKA where they will produce new rolling stock for Indonesia. They have also placed a bid in the Philippines with FLIRTs for a new airport express service, which would be produced in the new factory in Indonesia.
Here in Sweden stadlers multiple units have had quite a lot of problems. The kiss are designated ER1 in Sweden and have earned the nickname Error 1 by some people due to the problems.
I am one of the few people who genuinely likes the older style trains, but of all the modern trains out there, there's just something I like about the Stadler multiple units. I'm so glad that the US is going to be getting these trains, and I hope we get some over here on the east coast.
In North America, Can the FLIRT Run on a shared corridor with freight? Or only the KISS?
Congratulations Reece on 200k subscribers!
In Germany and Austria some Kiss trains even have top speeds of up to 200km/h.
2 rmtransit videos in 24 hours!? 😃
Transit week is back!
Four in 96!
We need these for the Long Island Rail Road in New York
I can't wait until the new Stadler metro trains are introduced in Tyne and Wear. I hope some at least will be introduced this year. I've seen the quaility of some trains Stadler makes, so I do hope our new ones are just as good if not better than some other trains.
Them new trains seem big compared to the current old boxy bois from the 80's.
When I was in Toronto a few weeks back, I rode go transit a couple different times and yeah you’re right those bombardier cars are different than the cars I know in California where I’m from.
Metrolink (Los Angeles)
ACE (Stockton)
Caltrain (San Francisco) have the original design
I found out that ACE, acquired a set of the new series 9 cars very similar to the cab car of co-transit
Been riding with both Flirt and Kiss trains with Slovenian railways and they are pretty good.
I love stadler flirt and gtw. I have three models in N scale that do a great job serving my railroad.
Stadler also make Train Sets for the Pikes Peak Cog Railway in coloraod and the Rocky Mountaineer trains in Canada and Colorado
You are not correct about the KISS's "alternative compliance." Stadler and CalTrain had to apply for an FRA waiver that allowed the design to bypass crash regulations, because no off-the-shelf European design meets them. The Avelia Liberty and other European trains that are now being bought are made possible by the fact those regulations were dropped now that US railroads are forced to adopt PTC - this happened after the KISS order was placed though.
The Talgos used on Amtrak's Cascades service went through this process too in the 1990s.
Speaking of CalTrain's Stadler KISS EMU's, recently one of them ran under it's own power on a small part of CalTrain's line.
(The electric lines aren't yet finished and they need to do a full testing of the system before they're in revenue service, but they still powered up a small section of the line and ran it).
If I remember correctly, Stadler had to get a special exemption from the Federal Railroad Administration to operate the KISS electric trains on the Caltrain route. Which was not that hard to do given that very few freight trains operate on the former Southern Pacific Peninsula Line.
One thing that isn't covered a lot, even in more train-focused circles is the CalTrain electrification upgrades that are going on right now to operate these FLIRTs. The upgrade program is very good for future transit expansions to San Jose and also allows for the Bay Area to be even more connected.
I disagree that 1 bathroom per train is an improvement over the multiple bathrooms in the GO trains. If that bathroom is occupied and you need to go…. Well you’ll wish there was more than 1!
Yeah, while I agree that you don't need a bathroom in every car for a regional train, a seven car train should have at least three bathrooms (or two if the cars are short).
Great video! You mentioned Philadelphia as a potential location for newer Stadler trains. I can't see that happening for at least a decade or perhaps longer as SEPTA purchased about a 100 Silverliner V cars. Yes, SEPTA still has hundreds of ancient Silverliner IV cars that need to be replaced but I can't see them purchasing a new type of flee. They should and may do so, I just don't see it.
Well, when you have a big network, having multiple types of trains is basically inevitable! I think it would be worth the extra challenge
Dallas resident, we try our best and honestly aren’t horrible considering it’s the US. Wish it was a bit more expansionist as always but I’ll take what I can get
Funnily enough that's been the biggest problem with DART. The service area is gigantic (not for the size of the metro area but its still pretty extensive) but the quality of the service has wasn't great. Now DART is going to finish the Silver Line, then not do any more expansions on the rail network for a decade or 2 and focus almost exclusively on improving frequency and service quality on all of its train and bus routes. Oh, and lots of TOD is in the works too.
I have been looking at stadler trains recently. And what I noticed, customer happines with stadler trains varies a loooot depending on country and operator. Which just shows the level of customisation stadler offers. You have Regions where people don't really like them, and then you have other Regions where people love em. Which i find kinda interesting
I hear most complaints from customers of regional German operators. One reason could be that they tend to order rather cheaply equipped high capacity models. Another one that the network reliability in Germany is pretty low currently, and it's easier for customers to blame the train than to notice the bad track quality that makes the ride bumpy and slows the trains down.
Excellent overview and I can see NJ Transit or SEPTA ordering dual mode Stadler FLIRT by using the British version as the basis Class 755 keep in mind they have to be two door configuration because of low-level platforms the major cities having high level platforms 1.21m 48 inches above the rail. The train shells are made in Europe but finished in the United States this was said in a San Francisco Bay Area San Jose Mercury newspaper article
Dallas has just started the process of designing the successor to it's current SLRVs, hopefully light metro style trains are chosen for the system. New trains, Silver Line, and the new D2 Subway should breathe some new positive life into our public transit'S image. :)
Stadler seems to have a nice lineup of trains. I would absolutely love to see some interurban train services return to the Midwest. Around Chicago we have tons of track that is currently freight only and these sets would be great contenders for connecting the region more.
I will note that CAHSR did set their high door platforms at the Caltrain high platform height, but to my understanding, due to their wishes to use fare gates (which Caltrain does not use), Caltrain is currently considering merely running its trains to separated platforms. They hhave not set this in stone entirely, and the Salesforce Transit Center is to be all high platform since CAHSR and Caltrain were to share all tracks, but it is to be seen how Caltrain handles this.
Also to note is that the surface 4th & King Street station will be used to terminate some Caltrain service even when DTX opens, while CAHSR intends to leave it, so it's possible that the high platforms would be useful for that station.
This is really cool! I like MARC trains right now but would love to see some of these run on the Penn or Camden lines someday.
4:02 you should check Spain's changing gauge systems!! :)
Beautiful trains 👍💯
Should’ve mention the GTW like what Austin has, makes for great short-line commuter routes!
I love TransLink and the Broadway Subway is going to be great (plus talk of the UBC extension and North Shore Skytrain lines is exciting), but I wish someone in Vancouver would be talking about a comprehensive suburban rail system using FLIRTs. Especially with Ottawa, Montreal, and Toronto all overhauling their suburban rail systems, it seems wild to me that TransLink isn’t even looking in to upgrading the trains on the current West Coast Express which is antiquated and only runs 4 trains a day on weekdays in peak directions. I know there are issues interacting with freight companies, but that always seems so narrow-minded to me. . .
In New Jersey Transit, the newer bilevel cars don't have overhead luggage racks, although the older trains do. When I go into Newark International, I always hope I get an older train.
The Flirt is as normal to me, as a Chevron gas station to Americans 😂
On a more serious note: I really like Stadler's new Giruno SBB trains. These first class cabins feel like being on an Emirates airplane
San Fran's Kiss seems perfect for Toronto's RER!
So Reese, when are you going to make a video on your favorite trains, trams, and/or busses?
Nice trains; nice video. Thanks!
I'd love to see Metrolink adopt more FLIRTs in Los Angeles and Orange County soon. Especially for the Antelope Valley line and the San Bernandino Line.
6:01 I've been trying to find what Caltrain's bike car plans were with the EMUs. Thanks for your reporting on this Very Important Subject.
The current diesel sets have 2 types of bike cars--one with the bottom deck full of bikes like the Stadler car you filmed. These are great, though seating downstairs near the bikes is limited.
The bombardier bike cars, on the other hand, only fit about half as many bikes. Plus, the racks are split into 2 separate areas, making it awkward to shuffle bikes around in the limited space. These cars seem to always house the larger bathrooms, too. So the afternoon commute is like riding in a port-a-potty.
I'm so looking forward to 2024 when the EMUs supposedly enter service.
The implementation of the Dart lines in the North Texas area is seems great, but awful in practicality. A car in rush hour traffic going from Denton to Deep Elum in Dallas can beat out the train by anywhere from 30 minutes to nearly an hour.
KISS trains are also used on slower lower demand long distance trains in Germany known as IC 2.
Hopefully we see this in Raleigh with our commuter rail.
I used the TRE and DART rail on my way to work in downtown Dallas for almost 15 years, it was beautiful. I wish the DART and TRE spread all over the metroplex. I would use it daily.
Probably way too early, but the Interboro Express between Brooklyn and Queens could look at Stadler. Also since it’s not going into the Bronx, maybe they could extend it up to the Grand Central Parkway, then turn right, run above the median and down to LaGuardia to finally have a useful AirTrain that also connects to MANY subway stations not just one like the JFK AirTrain.
Like having the IBX run with multiple units? Cause I thought they were going with the Light Rail option, though they do have the Variobahn & Tango option with the latter able to be high floor for more capacity.
If you want the IBX,do not try to add to the route, but support IRT subway cars instead of LRVs. See BQ Rail at sub stack for more re IBX.
Hell, Hannover has 8 door three car units for actual S-Bahn service and the ottawa layout without diesel pack is used all over CH for S-Bahn and regio services…
Also, there’s plenty of KISS and FLIRT models rated for 125mph too…
Congrats on 200k subs
Thanks!
Excuse me sir that is New Jersey not New York. i will not take this slander that we would have a place as boring as the meadowlands in our state. All joking aside great video. It would be dope if the NYC metro area could get trains half as nice as these
Edit: wait lol you put the same station as the right state this time when you showed it later in the video
Maybe it was all a plot all along 😂