![Gangways in use](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/Gangways_in_use.jpg)
A gangway connection (or, more loosely, a corridor connection) is a flexible connector fitted to the end of a railway coach, enabling passengers to move from one coach to another without danger of falling from the train.
Origins: Coaches in British and American railways
The
London and North Western Railway
The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the L&NWR was the largest joint stock company in the United Kingdom.
In 1923, it became a constituent of the Lo ...
(LNWR) was the first British railway to provide passengers with the means to move from one coach to another while the train was in motion. In 1869 the LNWR built a pair of saloons for the use of
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
; these had six-wheel underframes (the
bogie
A bogie ( ) (in some senses called a truck in North American English) is a chassis or framework that carries a wheelset, attached to a vehicle—a modular subassembly of wheels and axles. Bogies take various forms in various modes of transp ...
coach did not appear in Britain until 1874), and the gangway was fitted to only one end of each coach. The Queen preferred to wait until the train had stopped before using the gangway.
![GNER-91116-coupling-01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/GNER-91116-coupling-01.jpg)
In 1887,
George M. Pullman
George Mortimer Pullman (March 3, 1831 – October 19, 1897) was an American engineer and industrialist. He designed and manufactured the Pullman sleeping car and founded a company town, Pullman, for the workers who manufactured it. This ulti ...
introduced his patented
vestibule cars. Older railroad cars had open platforms at their ends, which were used both for joining and leaving the train, but could also be used to step from one car to the next. This practice was dangerous, and so Pullman decided to enclose the platform to produce the
vestibule. For passing between cars, there was a passageway in the form of a steel-framed rectangular diaphragm mounted on a buffing plate above the centre coupler. The vestibule prevented passengers from falling out, and protected passengers from the weather when passing between cars. In the event of an accident, the design also helped prevent cars from overriding each other, reducing the risk of
telescoping. Pullman's vestibule cars were first used in 1887. Among the first to use them was the
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...
on the ''Pennsylvania Limited'' service to Chicago.
The
Great Northern Railway introduced the Gould-design gangway connection to Great Britain in 1889, when E.F. Howlden was Carriage and Wagon Superintendent.
In March 1892, the
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...
(GWR) introduced a set of gangwayed coaches on their to
Birkenhead
Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...
service. Built to the design of
William Dean, it was the first British side-corridor train to have gangway connections between all the coaches, although they were provided not to enable passengers to move around the train, but rather to allow the guard to reach any compartment quickly. Electric bells were provided so that he could be summoned. When the guard was not so required, he kept the communicating doors locked. Passengers could still use the side-corridor within the coach to reach the toilet.
The gangway connections of the early GWR
corridor coach
A corridor coach is a type of railway passenger coach divided into compartments and having a corridor down one side of the coach to allow free movement along the train and between compartments.
These were first introduced, in Britain at least, ar ...
es were offset to one side. Some coaches intended for use at the ends of trains had the gangway connection fitted at one end only. The GWR introduced restaurant cars in 1896; gangway connections were fitted, but passengers wishing to use the restaurant car were expected to board it at the start of their journey, and remain there: the connections were still not for public use.
![GWR coach D124 BTK 1614](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/GWR_coach_D124_BTK_1614.jpg)
In May 1923, the GWR introduced some new coaches on their South Wales services; some of these coaches had British Standard gangway connections and screw couplers as used on many other GWR coaches; some had Pullman-type gangway connections and Laycock "buckeye" couplers; and there were some with one type at one end, and the other end having the other type. In 1925 the GWR started to use the "suspended" form of gangway connection instead of the "scissors" pattern. From 1938, GWR coaches which were expected to need coupling to LNER or SR coaches were fitted with gangway adaptors, to allow the dissimilar types to be connected.
From the beginning, the
London, Midland and Scottish Railway
The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSIt has been argued that the initials LMSR should be used to be consistent with LNER, GWR and SR. The London, Midland and Scottish Railway's corporate image used LMS, and this is what is generally u ...
used the British Standard type of gangway connector, with its "scissors" pattern as used by the GWR. Some coaches needed for LNER or SR lines were given gangway adaptors, so that they could safely couple to coaches fitted with the Pullman-type gangway.
On the formation of British Railways on 1 January 1948, operators decided to produce a new range of standard coaches, instead of perpetuating existing designs—but the new types had to be compatible with the old. Two of the pre-BR companies (the GWR and the
London, Midland and Scottish Railway
The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSIt has been argued that the initials LMSR should be used to be consistent with LNER, GWR and SR. The London, Midland and Scottish Railway's corporate image used LMS, and this is what is generally u ...
) favoured the British Standard gangway, whereas the other two (the
London and North Eastern Railway
The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) was the second largest (after LMS) of the " Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain. It operated from 1 January 1923 until nationalisation on 1 January 1948. At th ...
and the
Southern Railway) used the Pullman type. In the design of their new
Mark 1 coaches, British Railways decided to standardise on the Pullman type in view of its resistance to
telescoping.
These gangways consisted of a flat steel plate, having a large aperture for the passageway. At the bottom it was riveted to the buffing plate, whilst the top was supported on the coach end by two telescopic spring units. On the coach end was a wooden doorframe; this was connected to the faceplate by a flexible diaphragm made from plasticised
asbestos
Asbestos () is a naturally occurring fibrous silicate mineral. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous crystals, each fibre being composed of many microscopic "fibrils" that can be released into the atmosphere b ...
. When two coaches were coupled, a curtain was used to cover the inside surfaces of the diaphragms and faceplates. The doorframe was fitted with a lockable door, of either sliding or hinged type, depending on the interior layout of that end of the coach.
Travelling post offices
![GreatCentralRailwayE70268E](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/GreatCentralRailwayE70268E.JPG)
Coaches built for
travelling post office
A Travelling Post Office (TPO) was a type of mail train used in Great Britain and Ireland where the post was sorted en route.
The TPO can be traced back to the earlier days of the railway, the first ever postal movement by rail being performe ...
(TPO) services normally had their gangway connections offset to one side. There were two main reasons: there was a perceived security risk should these coaches be coupled to ordinary passenger-carrying coaches, the differing gangway positions minimising the risk of intrusion; and more space was available for sorting tables, the postal workers being able to walk in a straight line between vans without disturbing the sorters.
A disadvantage was that when a van was added to a TPO train, it might need to be turned around before it could be used. After the formation of British Railways, most new Mark 1 TPO vans were provided with centre gangways, though a batch intended to work with older vans were given offset gangways. These were altered to the standard arrangement in 1973. Until then, they had been the only BR Mark 1 gangwayed coaches not to have the Pullman gangway.
Locomotives (corridor tenders)
![LNER pacific 4472 Flying Scotsman, with corridor tender (CJ Allen, Steel Highway, 1928)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/LNER_pacific_4472_Flying_Scotsman%2C_with_corridor_tender_%28CJ_Allen%2C_Steel_Highway%2C_1928%29.jpg)
A corridor tender is a locomotive
tender with a passageway to one side, allowing crew changes on the fly.
The
London and North Eastern Railway
The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) was the second largest (after LMS) of the " Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain. It operated from 1 January 1923 until nationalisation on 1 January 1948. At th ...
(LNER) decided that from the start of their summer timetable on 1 May 1928, the
''Flying Scotsman'' service would run non-stop over the between and . The locomotives to be used were of that railway's
class A1, and the schedule was for the journey to be completed in hours. This was too long to allow a single crew to handle the train without a rest; means were therefore sought by which the crew could be changed at approximately the half-way point.
![Flying Scotsman tender NRM 15 March 2009](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/Flying_Scotsman_tender_NRM_15_March_2009.jpg)
The LNER's locomotive design team, headed by
Nigel Gresley
Sir Herbert Nigel Gresley (19 June 1876 – 5 April 1941) was a British railway engineer. He was one of Britain's most famous steam locomotive engineers, who rose to become Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the London and North Eastern Rai ...
, produced a new design of tender that was slightly longer than the old, but built as high and wide as possible without compromising the
loading gauge
A loading gauge is a diagram or physical structure that defines the maximum height and width dimensions in railway vehicles and their loads. Their purpose is to ensure that rail vehicles can pass safely through tunnels and under bridges, and ke ...
. A passageway was incorporated along the right-hand side, and at the rear end a Pullman type gangway connection was fitted, together with a
buckeye coupler
Janney couplers are a semi-automatic form of railway coupling that allow rail cars and locomotives to be securely linked together without rail workers having to get between the vehicles. They are also known as American, AAR, APT, ARA, MCB, knuck ...
, both of which were compatible with LNER coaches. The gangway was of concertina pattern, and was pressed against the corresponding gangway on the leading coach by means of sprung pistons.
Although a normal gangway connection was used, the passageway through the tender was only high and wide, and the floor of the passage was above the bottom of the water tank, requiring two steps at both ends. The passageway was illuminated by a single circular window in the tender rear panel, placed high up and to the right of the corridor connection. Ten of these tenders were placed in service between April and September 1928, of which three were attached to new locomotives of Class A3; two were attached to existing Class A3 locomotives, and five attached to Class A1 locomotives. The design was patented by Gresley in August 1928.
In service, the relief crew travelled in the front coach of the train, and as the train approached the half-way point, they left their seats and made their way forward through the corridor tender to the locomotive cab. On their arrival, the previous crew then handed over the controls and went back to the seats in the train vacated by the relief crew.
Another corridor tender (Number 5484) was built in 1929 for use with the new
Class W1 4-6-4 no. 10000; four more were built in 1935 with the first four locomotives of the new
Class A4
The Class A4 is a class of streamlined 4-6-2 steam locomotive designed by Nigel Gresley for the London and North Eastern Railway in 1935. Their streamlined design gave them high-speed capability as well as making them instantly recognisable, and ...
, and a final seven were built with the 1937 batch of Class A4 locomotives, making a total of 22. The original ten were reconditioned in 1936–1937 and attached to other Class A4 locomotives. In May 1948, the 1929-built corridor tender was transferred to a locomotive of Class A4, after which all 22 remained with this class until withdrawal.
Open gangways in urban transit
File:Skytrain Mk3 interior toward center.jpg, Interior view of the Vancouver SkyTrain
SkyTrain is the medium-capacity rapid transit system in the Metro Vancouver Regional District, serving Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. SkyTrain has of track and uses fully automated trains on grade-separated tracks running on underground ...
Bombardier Innovia Metro
Innovia Metro is an automated rapid transit system manufactured by Alstom. Innovia Metro systems run on conventional metal rails and pull power from a third rail, but are powered by a linear induction motor that provides traction by pulling on ...
300 (Mark III)
File:METRO-AZUR-INTERIEUR.jpg, Interior view of Azur train MPM-10
The MPM-10 (Montréal Pneumatic Material 2010), commonly known as the Azur, is the third and newest generation of rubber-tired rolling stock used on the Montreal Metro in Canada, built by a consortium of Bombardier Transportation and Alstom. The ...
File:Bombardier Flexity Outlook Gangway.jpg, Open gangway on a Bombardier Flexity Outlook tram
File:34th St Hudson Yards td 30 - R211 Open House.jpg , R211 mockup
File:SydneyMetro16.jpg, Interior of a Sydney Metro Alstom Metropolis TS set
The Sydney Metro ''Metropolis'' Stock is a class of electric multiple units that operate on the Sydney Metro network. Built by Alstom as part of their Metropolis family, the trains are the first fully automated passenger rolling stock in Austra ...
In urban transit, open gangways are most commonly used in
light rail and
streetcar
A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
s, where the railcars are divided into two or more sections linked by gangways.
Articulated bus
An articulated bus, also referred to as a banana bus, bendy bus, tandem bus, vestibule bus, wiggle wagon, stretch bus, or an accordion bus, (either a motor bus or trolleybus) is an articulated vehicle used in public transportation. It is usua ...
es similarly have extensions connected with a gangway. Open gangways have also become increasingly used for
heavy rail
Various terms are used for passenger railway lines and equipment; the usage of these terms differs substantially between areas:
Rapid transit
A rapid transit system is an electric railway characterized by high speed (~) and rapid accelerati ...
rapid transit
Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be c ...
rolling stock. It provides a way to seamlessly move between cars at any time, without passing through doors and a dangerous open area that is often against the rules. It also raises the capacity of metro cars by about 10%,
a significant improvement for systems such as the
New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October 2 ...
where infrastructure and timetables are at capacity.
The NYC Subway was the first transit authority in the world to have a subway / metro system with an open gangways, with the
BMT Multi-Section Articulated Cars (1925 - 1965), then operated by the
Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation
The Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT) was an urban transit holding company, based in Brooklyn, New York City, United States, and incorporated in 1923. The system was sold to the city in 1940. Today, together with the IND subway s ...
. Cars like these were not purchased again, as the cars needed constant repair, and crime was increasing in NYC at the time, resulting in locked doors between subway cars.
RATP was the first European authority to order open gangway cars for
Paris Metro
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Sin ...
, with Bombardier
MF 88
The MF 88 is a steel-wheel variant of electric multiple units used on Paris's Métro system. RATP contracted a consortium of manufacturers, with Ateliers du Nord de la France (now Bombardier Transportation) in charge of the project. They were ...
and GEC Alsthom
MP 89
The MP 89 (French : Métro sur Pneus d'appel d'offres de 1989) is a rubber tired variant of electric multiple units used on the Paris Métro. Designed by Roger Tallon, two types are built by GEC-Alsthom for service on Lines 4 and 14, and so ...
(as
NS 93
The NS 93 (Neumático Santiago 1993) is the third generation of rubber-tyred metro, rubber tired rolling stock used on the Santiago Metro system. The trains were manufactured by Alstom, GEC Alsthom in 1996 and went into operation in 1997. Original ...
for
Santiago Metro
The Santiago Metro ( es, Metro de Santiago) is a rapid transit system serving the city of Santiago, the capital of Chile. It currently consists of seven lines (numbered 1-6 and 4A), 136 stations, and of revenue route. The system is managed by th ...
); it was followed by
Metrovalencia
Metrovalencia is an urban rail system serving a large part of the metropolitan area of Valencia. The network is a modern amalgamation of former FEVE narrow gauge electric operated suburban railways. It is a large suburban network that crosses ...
FGV 3900,
Madrid Metro
The Madrid Metro (Spanish: ''Metro de Madrid'') is a rapid transit system serving the city of Madrid, capital of Spain. The system is the 14th longest rapid transit system in the world, with a total length of 293 km (182 mi). Its gro ...
AnsaldoBreda
Hitachi Rail Italy S.p.A. is a multinational rolling stock manufacturer company based in Pistoia, Italy. Formerly AnsaldoBreda S.p.A., a subsidiary of state-owned Finmeccanica, the company was sold in 2015 to Hitachi Rail of Japan. After the dea ...
7000 and
CAF 8000, and
Rome Metro
The Rome Metro ( it, Metropolitana di Roma) is a rapid transit system that operates in Rome, Italy. It started operation in 1955, making it the oldest in the country.
The Metro comprises three lines – A (orange), B (blue) and C (green) ...
MA-300 (CAF S/300).
In North America, the
Toronto Transit Commission
The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is the public transport agency that operates bus, subway, streetcar, and paratransit services in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, some of which run into the Peel Region and York Region. It is the oldest and largest ...
(TTC) was the second transit authority to use open gangway rolling stock, with its
Toronto Rocket
The Toronto Rocket (TR) train is the fifth and latest series of rolling stock used in the Toronto subway system in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Owned and operated by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), the trains were built by Bombardier Transpor ...
railcars (a variant of the
Bombardier Movia
The Alstom Movia (introduced as the Adtranz Movia and later sold as the Bombardier Movia) is a family of metro train cars designed by Adtranz and later built by Bombardier Transportation and Alstom. The structure and body shell are fully customi ...
line of open-gangway cars) delivered to the
Toronto subway
The Toronto subway is a rapid transit system serving Toronto and the neighbouring city of Vaughan in Ontario, Canada, operated by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). It is a multimodal transport, multimodal rail network consisting of three Pa ...
system from 2010. The
Société de Transport de Montréal
The Société de transport de Montréal (STM; en, Montreal Transit Corporation) is a public transport agency that operates transit bus and rapid transit services in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Established in 1861 as the "Montreal City Passenger Ra ...
(STM) upgraded its fleet of subway cars with Azur (
MPM-10
The MPM-10 (Montréal Pneumatic Material 2010), commonly known as the Azur, is the third and newest generation of rubber-tired rolling stock used on the Montreal Metro in Canada, built by a consortium of Bombardier Transportation and Alstom. The ...
) trains that included open gangways.
Montreal Metro
The Montreal Metro (french: Métro de Montréal) is a rubber-tired underground rapid transit system serving Greater Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The metro, operated by the Société de transport de Montréal (STM), was inaugurated on October 14, ...
took delivery of the Bombardier/Alstom
MPM-10
The MPM-10 (Montréal Pneumatic Material 2010), commonly known as the Azur, is the third and newest generation of rubber-tired rolling stock used on the Montreal Metro in Canada, built by a consortium of Bombardier Transportation and Alstom. The ...
Azur trains in 2016.
The
Metropolitan Transportation Authority
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is a public benefit corporation responsible for public transportation in the New York City metropolitan area of the U.S. state of New York. The MTA is the largest public transit authority in th ...
(MTA) is considering the design for the
New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October 2 ...
's
R211 order under construction. Initially the order will consist of 545 cars, of which 20 will be in experimental open gangway formations. The order includes an option to purchase up to 640 additional open gangway cars, the decision of which will be based on the success of the prototype sets.
While not technically an open gangway because of the use of doors,
BART
Bart is a masculine given name, usually a diminutive of Bartholomew, sometimes of Barton, Bartolomeo, etc.
Bart is a Dutch and Ashkenazi Jewish surname, and derives from the name ''Bartholomäus'', a German form of the biblical name ''Barthol ...
permits passengers to walk between cars via a more traditional gangway connection. This has been a feature since its opening in 1972.
The open gangway design has been incorporated into
Alstom Metropolis
The Alstom Metropolis is a family of electric multiple units designed and produced by the French rolling stock manufacturer Alstom. It is designed for high capacity rapid transit or metro rail infrastructure systems. Trains can be run in various ...
,
Bombardier Movia
The Alstom Movia (introduced as the Adtranz Movia and later sold as the Bombardier Movia) is a family of metro train cars designed by Adtranz and later built by Bombardier Transportation and Alstom. The structure and body shell are fully customi ...
and
Innovia Metro
Innovia Metro is an automated rapid transit system manufactured by Alstom. Innovia Metro systems run on conventional metal rails and pull power from a third rail, but are powered by a linear induction motor that provides traction by pulling on ...
,
Siemens Inspiro
The Siemens Inspiro is a family of electric multiple units designed and manufactured by Siemens since 2012 for metro systems. The product was launched on 19 September 2012 at the InnoTrans in Berlin. The first Inspiro entered service with Warsa ...
, and
81-760 Oka/81-765 Moskva trains which operate on a variety of subway systems around the world, such as
Riyadh Metro
The Riyadh Metro ( ar, قطار الرياض ', ) is a rapid transit system under construction in Riyadh, the capital city of Saudi Arabia. It is part of the King Abdulaziz Project for Riyadh Public Transport and will consist of six metro lines ...
(Inspiro, Innnovia, Metropolis);
Singapore MRT
The Mass Rapid Transit system, locally known by the initialism MRT, is a rapid transit system in Singapore and the island country's principal mode of railway transportation. The system commenced operations in November 1987 after two decades of ...
(Metropolis, Movia);
Barcelona Metro
The Barcelona Metro (Catalan and Spanish: ) is an extensive network of rapid transit electrified railway lines that run mostly underground in central Barcelona and into the city's suburbs. It is part of the larger public transport sys ...
,
Amsterdam Metro
The Amsterdam Metro ( nl, Amsterdamse metro) is a rapid transit system serving Amsterdam, Netherlands, and extending to the surrounding municipalities of Diemen and Ouder-Amstel. Until 2019 it also served the municipality of Amstelveen but thi ...
,
Budapest Metro
The Budapest Metro ( hu, Budapesti metró) is the rapid transit system in the Hungarian capital Budapest. It is the world's oldest electrified underground railway system, and the second oldest underground railway system with multiple stations, ...
,
Buenos Aires Underground
The Buenos Aires Underground ( es, Subterráneo de Buenos Aires, links=no), locally known as Subte (), is a rapid transit system that serves the area of the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The first section of this network (Plaza de Mayo–Plaz ...
,
Sydney Metro
The Sydney Metro is a fully automated rapid transit system serving the city of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Currently consisting of one line that opened on 26 May 2019, it runs from Tallawong to Chatswood and consists of 13 stations ...
(Metropolis);
Vancouver SkyTrain
SkyTrain is the medium-capacity rapid transit system in the Metro Vancouver Regional District, serving Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. SkyTrain has of track and uses fully automated trains on grade-separated tracks running on underground ...
(Innovia);
London Underground
The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent ceremonial counties of England, counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and He ...
(Inspiro
New Tube for London
The New Tube for London (NTfL) is a type of London Underground train to be built by Siemens as part of its Inspiro family at Siemens's factories in Goole (East Yorkshire) and Vienna, Austria.
An initial batch of 94 nine-car trains has been or ...
,
S Stock);
Baku Metro
Baku Metro ( az, Bakı metropoliteni) is a rapid transit system serving Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. First opened on 6 November 1967 during the time of the Soviet Union, it has features typical of ex-Soviet systems, including very deep centra ...
(Oka, Moskva); and
Tashkent Metro
The Tashkent Metro ( uz, Toshkent metropoliteni, Тошкент метрополитени) is the rapid transit system serving the city of Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan. It was the seventh metro to be built in the former USSR, opening in 1 ...
(Moskva).
Some trains, like
U-Bahn
Rapid transit in Germany consists of four U-Bahn systems and fourteen S-Bahn systems. The U-Bahn commonly understood to stand for Untergrundbahn (''underground railway'') are conventional rapid transit systems that run mostly underground, while ...
BVG Class HK
The BVG Class HK is a type of electric multiple unit in service on the Berlin U-Bahn. It is operated by ''Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe'' (BVG) (Berlin Transport Company).
The HK is a Berlin U-Bahn#Kleinprofil (small profile), ''Kleinprofil'' (sma ...
,
S-Bahn
The S-Bahn is the name of hybrid urban- suburban rail systems serving a metropolitan region in German-speaking countries. Some of the larger S-Bahn systems provide service similar to rapid transit systems, while smaller ones often resemble co ...
DBAG Class 481
The DBAG Class 481/482 is an electric multiple unit train for the Berlin S-Bahn. The class 481 was designed to replace the aging rail cars after the German reunification in 1990. The first mock-up models were presented in 1993 with the first roll ...
,
81-740 Rusich etc. use open gangways only between car pairs or 3-car sets; recent versions of these trains,
Class IK,
Class 483 and
81-760 Oka/81-765 Moskva, employ full walkthrough gangway along entire train.
Multiple units (walk-through heads)
File:Jr 285 undocking Okayama 20130331.jpg, JR 285 series
File:Doorloopkop.jpg, Dutch ICM
File:AM96 - Gentbrugge.JPG, Belgian MS96
File:DSB IC3 Fred.JPG, Danish DSB IC3
File:N’EX ;The Narita Express.JPG, JR E259 series
E, or e, is the fifth letter and the second vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''e'' (pronounced ); plur ...
File:JREast-E351-Coupling.JPG, JR E351 series
The was a Tilting train, tilting electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) on Chuo Main Line ''Azusa (train), Super Azusa'' limited express services in Japan from 1993 to 2018. First introduced in ...
File:Series-E353 S110.jpg, JR E353 series
File:Northern Rail Class 150, 150268, Wigan Wallgate railway station (geograph 4531374).jpg, British Rail Class 150
The British Rail Class 150 ''Sprinter'' is a class of diesel multiple unit passenger trains; they were developed and constructed by BREL York between 1984 and 1987 for use on regional services across the UK. The type is a second-generation de ...
File:Class 350 350240.jpg, British Rail Class 350
The British Rail Class 350 is a class of electric multiple-unit built by Siemens Transportation Systems to its Siemens Desiro, Desiro design between 2004 and 2014. All 87 are now operated by West Midlands Trains, having previously been operated ...
File:Burnham - GWR 387135+387148 Maidenhead service.JPG, British Rail Class 387
The British Rail Class 387 is a type of electric multiple unit passenger train built by Bombardier Transportation as part of the Electrostar family. A total of 107 units were built, with the first train entering service with Thameslink in Decemb ...
A walk-through head is a type of gangway connection that is installed in a train set that is intended to enable the passage from one train to the next when they are interconnected.
With most matched multiple-units, it is possible, as with locomotive towed carriages, to walk from one unit to another, but a passage between adjacent cabbed ends of coupled trains is less common.
See also
*
Anticlimber
A cowcatcher, also known as a pilot, is the device mounted at the front of a locomotive to deflect obstacles on the track that might otherwise damage or derail it or the train.
In the UK small metal bars called ''life-guards'', ''rail guard ...
*
Buffers and chain coupler
Buffers and chain couplers (also known as "buffers and screw", "screw", "screwlink", and "English" couplers) are the de facto UIC standard railway stock coupling used in the EU and UK, and on some surviving former colonial railways, such as in ...
*
Janney coupler
Janney couplers are a semi-automatic form of railway coupling that allow rail cars and locomotives to be securely linked together without rail workers having to get between the vehicles. They are also known as American, AAR, APT, ARA, MCB, knuck ...
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Railway coupling
A coupling (or a coupler) is a mechanism typically placed at each end of a railway vehicle that connects them together to form a train. A variety of coupler types have been developed over the course of railway history. Key issues in their desig ...
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SA3 coupler
SA3 couplers (also known as СА3 or СА-3 couplers per the typical foundry stamp on top of these couplers, meaning "Советская Автосцепка, 3" in Russian or "Soviet Auto-latch 3" in English) or Willison coupler and Russia ...
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Tightlock coupler
Type H Tightlock couplers are a variety of Janney coupler, typically used on North American mainline passenger rail cars. They are designed with mechanical features which reduce slack in normal operation and prevent telescoping in derailments, y ...
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Vestibule
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Vestibuled train
A vestibuled train is a passenger train whose cars have enclosed vestibules at their ends, in contrast to the open platforms on early cars. Typically, a vestibule has doorways on either side to allow passenger entry and exit at stations, a door ...
Notes
References
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{{refend
Rail technologies
Passenger rail rolling stock