DBAG Class 612

DBAG Class 612
DBAG Class 612
	Class 612 534
Manufacturer	Adtranz, Hennigsdorf factory; Bombardier Transportation
Constructed	1998-2003
Number built	192 trainsets
Specifications
Train length	51.75 m (169 ft 9+3⁄8 in) over couplings
Maximum speed	160 km/h (99 mph)
Weight	Service: 119 t (117 long tons; 131 short tons)
Prime mover(s)	Cummins QSK19
Engine type	Diesel engine
Power output	750 hp (560 kW) per car
Transmission	Hydraulic
UIC classification	2′B′+ B′2′
Braking system(s)	KE-R-A-Mg-H[clarification needed]

The DBAG Class 612 is a two car, tilting, diesel multiple unit operated by the Deutsche Bahn for fast regional rail services on unelectrified lines.^[1]

General information

The Class are a two car tilting DMU built between 1998 and 2003 by Adtranz in Hennigsdorf which later became Bombardier Transportation.^[1] The class are also known as RegioSwingers.

They were developed to replace the problematic DB Class 611. The sets worked fine between 1998 and 2004 until cracks were detected in a number of wheelsets and so the tilting system was disabled and curves on lines had to have reduced speed limits, which affected the timetables and connections. From 2005 the trains had the wheelsets replaced and the tilting system was back up and running. The maximum tilt is 8°.

After ICE TD class 605 was grounded due to a fracture of an axle in one unit, it was replaced by class 612 on the Dresden-Munich line 2003, as replacement by anything other than a tilting DMU would have meant an extension of travel time. Even though class 612 was not constructed for ICE-type travelling comfort, 16 units were repainted in the ICE paint scheme and renumbered as class 612.4.

The RegioSwinger design is also used by Croatian Railways as class HŽ 7123.

Liveries

Most units are in the standard Verkehrsrot Red livery. In 2003 17 units were painted in the ICE scheme of White with a red band, however, these are now back in all red.

After 2017, trains using the yellow/white/black branding of bwegt, the mobility brand of the Baden-Württemberg State Ministry for Transport have been operating out of Ulm.

Services

Class 612 are used on the following services in the different regions (2012):

DB Regio Bayern

IRE 1 Nürnberg - Bayreuth - Hof - Plauen - Zwickau - Chemnitz – Dresden
RE Hof/Bayreuth – Lichtenfels – Saalfeld
RE Hof – Bamberg
RE Hof – Würzburg
RE Hof – Nürnberg
RB Lichtenfels – Kronach
RE Regensburg – Schwandorf – Weiden – Marktredwitz – Hof
RE Würzburg – Bamberg – Hof/Bayreuth
RE Nürnberg – Schwandorf/Weiden
RB Würzburg – Schweinfurt – Ebenhausen – Bad Kissingen
RE Nürnberg – Donauwörth – Augsburg – Buchloe – Kempten – Immenstadt – Lindau/Oberstdorf (called "Allgäu-Franken-Express")
RE Lindau – Immenstadt – Kempten – Memmingen – Ulm
RE Oberstdorf – Immenstadt – Kempten – Memmingen – Ulm
RE Lindau - Kempten - Augsburg

DB Regio Nordrhein-Westfalen

RE 17 Hagen – Schwerte (Ruhr) – Fröndenberg – Arnsberg (Westf) – Meschede – Bestwig – Brilon-Wald – Marsberg – Warburg (Westf) – Hofgeismar – Grebenstein – Kassel Hbf – Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe

DB Regio Rhein Neckar

RE 4 Karlsruhe – Graben-Neudorf – Germersheim – Speyer – Ludwigshafen – Worms – Mainz

DB Regio Südwest

RE 3 Frankfurt (Main) Hbf – Mainz – Bad Kreuznach – Kirn – Idar-Oberstein – Türkismühle – Saarbrücken
RE 11 Saarbrücken - Saarlouis - Merzig - Trier
RE 12 Trier – Bitburg – Gerolstein – Kall – Euskirchen – Köln
RE 25 Koblenz Hbf – Limburg (Lahn) – Wetzlar – Gießen
IRE Stuttgart Hbf — Tübingen Hbf — Sigmaringen( — Aulendorf)/ — Rottenburg( — Horb)(Stuttgart Hbf — Tübingen Hbf only calling at Reutlingen Hbf)

DB Regio Südost

RE 4 Hannover Hbf – Hildesheim – Goslar – Bad Harzburg – Halberstadt – Halle (Saale) (– Leipzig)
RE 6 Leipzig – Chemnitz
RE 16 Leipzig – Altenburg – Reichenbach (V.) – Hof/Adorf
RE 1 Dresden – Bischofswerda – Görlitz
RE 2 Dresden – Bischofswerda – Zittau – Liberec – Tanvald
RE 3 Nürnberg – Marktredwitz – Hof – Zwickau – Chemnitz – Dresden
RE 1 Göttingen – Gotha – Erfurt – Gera – Gößnitz – Zwickau/Chemnitz
RE 3 Erfurt – Gera – Altenburg
RE 14 Erfurt – Meiningen
RE 7 Würzburg – Suhl – Erfurt

References

^ ^a ^b Garvin (2013).

Citations

Garvin, Brian (2013). German Railways: The Complete Guide to All Locomotives and Multiple Units of Deutsche Bahn. Vol. 1. Sheffield, UK: Platform 5 Publishing. ISBN 978-1-9094-3103-4.
Garvin, Brian (2015). German Railways: The Complete Guide to All Locomotives and Multiple Units of Deutsche Bahn. Vol. 2. Sheffield, UK: Platform 5 Publishing. ISBN 978-1-9094-3118-8.
Erpenbeck, Dr. T.; Büttner, A.; Voges, Dr. V. (2006). "Tilting train technology at Deustsche Bahn AG - Prophecies, reality and necessary innovations" (PDF). UIC. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-02-19. Retrieved 2017-11-27.

[FOOTNOTEGarvin2013-1] Garvin (2013).

[1]

v t e Classes of German DMUs
BR number	601 602 605 608 610 611 612 612 alt 613 613 alt 614 618 624 627 628 629 632 633 633 alt 634 636 640 641 642 643 644 645 646 648 650 660 670 672 675 690 691 692 699 771 772 795 796 797 798
Pre-1968 classes	VT 04.0 VT 04.1 VT 04.5 VT 06 VT 07.5 VT 08.5 VT 10.5 VT 11.5 VT 12.5 VT 23.5 VT 24 VT 25.5 VT 30 VT 32 VT 33 VT 36.5 VT 38 VT 45.5 VT 46.5 VT 50 VT 51 VT 60.5 VT 62 VT 63 VT 66 VT 69 VT 70 VT 72 VT 75 VT 78 VT 79 VT 86 VT 88 VT 89 VT 90.5 VT 92.5 VT 95 VT 97 VT 98
Old DRG numbers	VT 7 VT 10 VT 20 VT 133 VT 135 VT 137 SVT 137 VT 814 VT 815 SVT 877
DR in the GDR	171 172 173 175 181 183 184 185 186 187 188 VT 2.09 VT 4.12 VT 12.14 VT 18.16
Special trains	Flying Hamburger ICE TD Integral TEE
Diesel railbuses	Esslingen railbus MAN railbus Uerdingen railbus Wismar railbus RegioSprinter