SBB RABDe 12/12

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SBB RABDe 12/12
Two mirages in the Zurich wine country
Two mirages in the Zurich wine country
Number: 20th
Manufacturer: Schindler Waggon Pratteln, FFA , BBC , SAAS
Year of construction (s): 1965-1967
Retirement: 2010
Gauge : 1,435 mm
Length over buffers: 73,300 mm
Empty mass: 170.0 t
Top speed: 125 km / h
Hourly output : 2444 kW at 80 km / h
Starting tractive effort: 239 kN
Seats: 200
56 (1st class)
144 (2nd class)
Classes : 1st and 2nd class

RABDe 12/12 is the type designation of a series of three-part multiple units of the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) that went into operation in 1967. The 20 multiple units were procured with a view to the introduction of the half-hourly service on the right bank of the Zürichseebahn ( Zürich - Meilen - Rapperswil SG ) in order to be able to keep to the tight timetable on the so-called Gold Coast. The trains originally had a wine-red color scheme - an exception at the SBB - and were given the nickname “Gold Coast Express” because of their use on the Gold Coast; The nickname "Mirage" was also common.

The trains reached speeds of up to 125 km / h and consisted of two second- class end cars and an intermediate car with first class and a luggage compartment. With the introduction of the Zurich S-Bahn , they were pushed to other lines by the new double-decker commuter trains (DPZ). The trains, which were modernized in the 1990s, were withdrawn from regular operations at the end of 2008 and initially served as a reserve. The last Mirage was scrapped in mid-2010.

business

The RABDe 12/12 are equipped with automatic GF couplings on both sides to ensure efficient operation. The three vehicles in a unit are closely coupled to one another and cannot be separated during normal operation. Because the number of seats in one unit was usually insufficient, double traction was usually used; up to four units can be coupled together in multiple control.

From 1969 onwards, the trains ran in a fixed timetable every 30 minutes on the right bank of the Zürichseebahn. For the route from Zurich to Rapperswil and vice versa, they each had a journey time of 48 minutes. This required four circuits with up to 4 vehicles. When the rigid timetable was introduced in 1969, 16 of the 20 vehicles in this series were firmly planned on this route.

Accidents / redesigns / modifications

Of the 20 compositions, a total of four compositions were seriously damaged in two accidents within two months in 1971 . In Herrliberg, multiple units 1119 and 1109 collided, in Uerikon it hit multiple units 1117 and 1113. Each collision affected two end cars and one intermediate car so badly that the cars were demolished. From the intact parts and two uninvolved compositions (1106 and 1111) four multiple units were put together again. This resulted in the "new" multiple units 1109 II and 1113 II , while the 1120 multiple unit was redrawn as 1117 II . The main workshop in Zurich converted the surplus intermediate car that could still be used into a catenary monitoring car, which was put into operation in 1980.

After 30 years of operation, the remaining 18 multiple units (1101–1118) were subjected to a total overhaul (R4) from 1996 and labeled as RABDe 510 000 - 510 017 according to the new numbering scheme . The most noticeable change to the RABDe 510 is the repainting according to the color scheme for regional vehicles (light gray / blue), which the SBB has been using since the NPZ ("Kolibri") . During the modernization, the vehicles were given yellow swing doors, analogous to the NPZ.

Curiosities

The pillar in the middle of the middle entry platforms of the two end cars does not primarily serve as a handle for passengers , but rather leads the 15 kV traction power supply to the high-voltage technology under the passenger compartment. It is also noteworthy that all axles of these vehicles are powered, which is unusual for regional trains. This fact together with the high performance give these vehicles a very high acceleration capacity, which earned them the nickname «Mirage» (after the Dassault Mirage fighter plane, which was procured by the Swiss Army at the same time). For railway fans it used to be interesting that, together with the BDe 4/4 and RBe 4/4 railcars, they belonged to those SBB vehicles in which the passenger could look over the shoulder of the locomotive driver and, with his consent, ride in the driver's cab ; however, since the R4 renovation, the driver's cab is a separate room and entry is therefore prohibited. Another curiosity was the route boards in blue with white lettering, specially procured for this type of vehicle.

commitment

While most of the SBB's vehicles had a fir green color until the 1980s, the RABDe 12/12 with their dark red color shaped the appearance of the right bank of the Zürichseebahn . Occasionally they were also on the left bank of Lake Zurich, in st. Gallic Linth area and in the Glarnerland . During some timetable periods in the 1970s and 1980s, a so-called bathing train ran from Zurich HB to the Bad Zurzach thermal baths (formerly Zurzach). For this purpose, the closing unit of a train coming from Rapperswil was used in the morning, so that a direct connection 'Rapperswil - Meilen - Zurich - Oerlikon - Bülach - Zurzach' was created. Most recently, the RABDe 510 operated mainly on the S16 line of the Zurich S-Bahn.

criticism

Because the RABDe 12/12 had access doors that were too narrow and the conventional interiors were divided by compartment doors, the change of passengers during the stops was too slow to meet the requirements of modern S-Bahn operations. Computer simulations later showed that the duration of the change of passengers at the stations and not the acceleration capacity of the vehicles is the most important criterion for a short journey time.

photos

  • Two mirages in their original condition, Zurich HB, 1985

  • Two Mirages modernized almost 40 years after they went into operation in their original territory, the Gold Coast

  • First class interior after renovation in the late 1990s

  • Second class interior after renovation in the late 1990s

See also

literature

Web links

Commons : SBB RABDe 510  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Zurich S-Bahn: Former Gold Coast Express adopted. Bahnonline.ch, December 9, 2008, accessed on October 18, 2018 .
  2. ↑ Yearbook of the Railway System, Part 20 1969, illustration of the schedule on page 61
  3. ↑ SBB newsletter 03/1981
  4. ^ Bernhard Huber: Bye "Mandarinli" - Farewell CLRV . In: Swiss Railway Review . No. 5 . Minirex, 2020, ISSN  1022-7113 , p. 266-267 .