Light train

A light-weight train is a type of passenger train that is developed for mainline rail roads. These type of trains are built using lightweighting techniques, with the purpose of reducing operating costs. In general light-weight trains are of the multiple unit type as this architecture gives the advantage of needing fewer bogies, which reduces the weight compared to a train consisting of single cars. For the use of light-weight trains on bridges, it's sometimes necessary to calculate whether to install protection against wind pressure.
Light-weight trains that appeared in the 1930s were called lightweight cars. In the first few decades light-weight train standards corresponded to the ones that were used for aircrafts.
Most light-weight trains in use in the 21st century were developed for mainline rail roads in Europe, however they do not meet the crash-safety guidelines from the U.S. Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). Light-weight trains in the U.S. can therefore only be used on isolated lines, where they are referred to as diesel light rail transit (abbreviated DLRT) or termed by the FRA.
History
Early examples where the 1931 U.S. Bullet and the 1932 German prototype , following a production series later . In the U.S. technology advanced with the introduction of the 1934 M-10000 prototype and soon followed by the Pioneer Zephyr and the 1935 . These and other examples led to a report by a U.S. statistics body collecting data and examining different light-weight passenger trains. One of the few light-weight train built in the U.S. after the war, the Keystone, only had limited success.
Another notable example was the Talgo I prototype that was tested in Spain between 1942 and 1944. The was partially based on the Talgo II and used in passenger service between 1956 and 1966. Talgo trains are used on the Spanish high-speed network; both the Deutsche Bahn (DB) and Danske Statsbaner (DSB) have ordered higher-speed trains for cross border long distance routes.
In the UK in the 1950s, the British Transport Commission (BTC) installed a committee to maintain branch lines by using light-weight trains.
In France, the TELLi project aims to do the same by introducing new light-weight trains starting in 2029.
Systems
Though light-weight trains are used on mainline rail roads in Europe, in the Americas they are mostly used on isolated tracks:
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*Caltrain
*CapMetro Rail
*eBART
*The River Line
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*Trillium Line
*Cariri Metro
*Parangaba Mucuripe Line
*Maceió Urban Rail
*Sistema de Trens Urbanos de Natal
*Sistema de Trens Urbanos de João Pessoa
Models
*ADtranz Electrostar
*Alstom Aventra
*Alstom Jazz
*Alstom Coradia LINT
*Alstom Régiolis
*Bombardier Itino
*Bombardier Talent
*Bombardier Z 50000
*CAF Civity
*DB Class 425
*DB Class 628
*DWA LVT/S
*Hitachi Caravaggio
*Pesa Atribo
*Pesa Elf
*Pesa Link
*Siemens Desiro
*Sprinter Lighttrain
*Stadler FLIRT
*Stadler GTW

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