The IC3 (or class MF) is a
Danish-built high-comfort medium/long distance
diesel multiple-unit
A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple-unit train powered by on-board diesel engines. A DMU requires no separate locomotive, as the engines are incorporated into one or more of the carriages. Diesel-powered single-unit railcars are also ...
train
In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often ...
. The sets were built by
ABB Scandia (later purchased by
Adtranz, which itself was subsequently acquired by
Bombardier Transportation
Bombardier Transportation was a Canadian-German rolling stock and rail transport manufacturer, headquartered in Berlin, Germany.
It was one of the world's largest companies in the rail vehicle and equipment manufacturing and servicing industry ...
) in
Randers
Randers () is a city in Randers Municipality, Central Denmark Region on the Jutland peninsula. It is Denmark's sixth-largest city, with a population of 62,802 (as of 1 January 2022).[articulated train
Articulated cars are rail vehicles which consist of a number of cars which are semi-permanently attached to each other and share common Jacobs bogies or axles and/or have car elements without axles suspended by the neighbouring car elements. ...]
made of light alloy with
Jacobs bogie
Jacobs bogies (named after Wilhelm Jakobs,, 1858–1942, a German Mechanical engineering, mechanical Railway engineering, railway engineer) are a type of Rail transport, rail vehicle bogie commonly found on Articulated car, articulated railcars an ...
s shared between carriages. There are two engines in each end of the front and rear carriages, central car has none, giving a total of .
The efficient mechanical transmissions with multiple gear ratios and high power for the tare weight give the IC3 good acceleration capabilities. The short distances between stations on inter-city routes in Denmark makes acceleration more important than high top speed, and so the IC3 units are geared for a top service speed of only .
The front- and cab-design is the most significant feature of the IC3 (and its cousins). When viewed from the outside, the viewer will notice the large rubber
diaphragm
Diaphragm may refer to:
Anatomy
* Thoracic diaphragm, a thin sheet of muscle between the thorax and the abdomen
* Pelvic diaphragm or pelvic floor, a pelvic structure
* Urogenital diaphragm or triangular ligament, a pelvic structure
Other
* Diap ...
surrounding a flat cab. The cab is separate section of the train, but the table with the controls is mounted on a large door, to which the seat is also mounted. When two or more trainsets are coupled together in a single train, the entire front door folds away to give a wide passage, and the rubber diaphragms at the ends form a flush aerodynamic seal. The IC3 can also couple and run in tandem with the electrical version, the
IR4
The IC3 (or class MF) is a Danish-built high-comfort medium/long distance diesel multiple-unit train. The sets were built by ABB Scandia (later purchased by Adtranz, which itself was subsequently acquired by Bombardier Transportation) in Rand ...
. Up to five trainsets can be coupled together. The IC3 can also be coupled mechanically with its Flexliner little sister, IC2', but not the cousin
ET-FT-ET.
DSB, runs 96 IC3 sets and 44
IR4
The IC3 (or class MF) is a Danish-built high-comfort medium/long distance diesel multiple-unit train. The sets were built by ABB Scandia (later purchased by Adtranz, which itself was subsequently acquired by Bombardier Transportation) in Rand ...
sets.
Some IC3s run in Sweden, mainly
Kalmar
Kalmar (, , ) is a city in the southeast of Sweden, situated by the Baltic Sea. It had 36,392 inhabitants in 2010 and is the seat of Kalmar Municipality. It is also the capital of Kalmar County, which comprises 12 municipalities with a total of ...
-
Linköping
Linköping () is a city in southern Sweden, with around 105,000 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the seat of Linköping Municipality and the capital of Östergötland County. Linköping is also the episcopal see of the Diocese of Linköping (Church ...
. They are designated Y2. Before 2007 they also ran
Malmö
Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal popul ...
-
Karlskrona
Karlskrona (, , ) is a locality and the seat of Karlskrona Municipality, Blekinge County, Sweden with a population of 66,675 in 2018. It is also the capital of Blekinge County. Karlskrona is known as Sweden's only baroque city and is host to Swe ...
(designated Y2K; adapted to run in Denmark as well), but that railway has been electrified, and after that 13 sets were sold to Denmark and Israel, and one scrapped because of a truck collision causing the death of a train driver. Six sets still run in Sweden.
![RNTRD001](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/RNTRD001.JPG)
Another large operator of the IC3 trains is
Israel Railways, who operate about 50 IC3 sets. Some of those sets were assembled in
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
from Danish-imported
complete knock-down
A knock-down kit (also knockdown kit, knocked-down kit, or simply knockdown or KD) is a collection of parts required to assemble a product. The parts are typically manufactured in one country or region, then exported to another country or region ...
(CKD) kits by ''RAMTA'', a division of
Israel Aerospace Industries
Israel Aerospace Industries (Hebrew: התעשייה האווירית לישראל ''ha-ta'asiya ha-avirit le-yisra'el'') or IAI (תע"א) is Israel's major aerospace and aviation manufacturer, producing aerial and astronautic systems for both mi ...
, and some are modified IC3 trainsets which were originally delivered to Sweden. Israel Railways have started to slowly retire their sets since 2021.
Similarly in Spain, the national rail operator
RENFE operates some IC3 derivatives classified as RENFE Class 594 on the Valladolid - Zamora - Puebla de Sanabria, Coruña - Ferrol, Coruña - Lugo - Monforte de Lemos and Madrid - Soria routes since 1997 as a medium-range regional service (Media Distancia) The Class 594 trains were built by
CAF under a technology license agreement from ABB Scandia.
In 1997, an Israel Railways IC3 was tested in North America under the name ‘Flexliner’.
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada. ...
used it on the ''
Hiawatha Service
The ''Hiawatha Service'', or simply ''Hiawatha'', is an 86-mile (138 km) train route operated by Amtrak on the western shore of Lake Michigan between Chicago, Illinois and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. However, the name was historically applied to ...
'', ''St Louis and Kansas City
Mules'', ''
San Diegan'', and between
Eugene and
Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous ...
;
Via Rail Canada
Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via, is a Canadian Crown corporation that is mandated to operate intercity passenger rail service in Canada. It receives an annual subsidy from Transport Canada to offset the cost of operating ...
tested it for services on the
Windsor
Windsor may refer to:
Places Australia
* Windsor, New South Wales
** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area
* Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland
**Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...
–
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...
corridor.
The total number of ABB Scandia/Adtranz-built IC3 and IC3-based trainsets is 202.
History
Development of the IC3 started in 1984, production started in 1986, and they entered service in 1991. However, its roots can be traced back further. In 1972, DSB celebrated its 125th anniversary, and at the same time made some large changes. First of all, two years later, in 1974, a completely new timetable system, the K74, was introduced. Secondly, the concept of ''lyntog'' was removed as the foundation of the long-distance traffic, and instead a new ''
InterCity
InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to regional, local, or commuter trains) generally call at m ...
'' concept took over that role. After a few years, a new concept emerged, the so-called APOs, which were work-groups tasked with specific areas. There were groups for electrical locomotives, diesel-powered locomotives, and others, including the "long distance train" APO group.
The ''long-distance train'' - APO was originally tasked with finding a suitable train for long-distance traffic. However, it was later rumoured that the ''lyntog''-concept might be re-introduced within a few years, and so it was decided to find a suitable design for that concept. Several requirements were made: primarily to use air-conditioning for cooling and heating of passenger areas, and be able to use either electric or diesel propulsion. The second requirement were due to the fact, that the Danish politicians had yet to decide whether or not to fund a proposed electrification of the mainlines of the Danish railroads.
At the time, no such train were available, so the group designed one themselves. In order to avoid propulsion units in the train (and thus reducing variants and development costs), it was designed to use a locomotive to haul it, and equip the end wagons with driver cabins. The train was designed as a set of 5 wagons, with a service wagon in the middle (containing a small kiosk, and other facilities) and 4 passenger wagons.
In 1983, the group responsible for the timetables had made a set of requirements for the ideal future train for the InterCity traffic.The requirements were based on experience with the prototype (which had now become known as IC5): it should be light-weight (preferably built of aluminium), its passenger compartments should have fixed windows and air conditioning, it should be self-propelled, it should use standard engine and transmission components from the bus and truck industry, and it should be fast and easy to add carriages (by coupling with another trainset); along with a number of technical requirements. The new project became designated IC3.
After the IC3 project had been proposed, it was relatively quickly decided to cancel development of the IC5-prototype, as it suffered from several problems. The main problem was the weight of the train. Originally it had been estimated to weigh around , but ended up weighing . A train of similar size and capacity, consisting of conventional wagons, would weigh approximately the same as originally estimated.
When it was first proposed to cancel the IC5 project, the train's designers tried to save it by proposing several solutions to the train's problems, but to no use: DSB's management had decided that the IC3 was the proper train for the future.
The task of developing the IC3 was assigned to a joint-group of designers and technical engineers from DSB itself and the factory Scandia (now a part of the
Bombardier corporation). As a side note, it should be mentioned that neither DSB or Scandia themselves, wished that they (Scandia) got the task, as they had pretty much no experience in this kind of trains.
The first IC3 set was delivered in 1988, but unfortunately suffered from a number of teething problems, primarily due to its (at the time very advanced) computer systems. One example was that it would lock the toilet door with no apparent reason (it was programmed to lock the door when either someone was in there and requested so via a button, or when the toilet-system suffered a problem). Another issue was that
snow
Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes.
It consists of frozen crystalline water throughou ...
would build up around the diaphragms and block the driver's view. By late 1990, the majority of these problems had been solved, and so the train entered service in 1991.
In 2017, DSB announced the IC3 stock would receive a 10-year life extension, allowing them to replace
IC4
The IC4 is an inter-city rail train built by the Italian train manufacturer AnsaldoBreda for the trans-Great Belt routes of Danske Statsbaner (DSB), Denmark's national railway operator. Under DSB's 'Good trains for everyone' plan ('Gode tog til ...
trains.
In 2018, the first six
ERTMS
The European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) is the system of standards for management and interoperation of signalling for railways by the European Union (EU). It is conducted by the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA) and is the o ...
-retrofitted IC3 trains left the workshop at
Langå, with the conversions performed by
Alstom
Alstom SA is a French multinational corporation, multinational rolling stock manufacturer operating worldwide in rail transport markets, active in the fields of passenger transportation, signalling, and locomotives, with products including the A ...
with technical assistance from
Banedanmark
Banedanmark (; previously Banestyrelsen) is a Danish company that is responsible for the maintenance and traffic control on all of the state owned Danish railway network.
History
In 1997, Banedanmark came into existence, having been branched of ...
and DSB. All IC3's are to be converted to ERTMS from the proprietary
ZUB 123 ATC system, which is to be done around the fall of 2019 and into 2020.
In 2021, DSB bought two sets from
Israel Railways for spare parts.
In 2021, the
Maritime and Commercial Court ruled that
Deutz AG
Deutz AG is a German internal combustion engine manufacturer, based in Porz, Cologne, Germany.
History
The company was founded by Nicolaus Otto, the inventor of the four-stroke internal combustion engine, and his partner Eugen Langen on 31 ...
had misused a dominant market position in 2010 regarding replacement motor parts.
In 2021,
Israel Railways is due to retire its IC3 fleet simultaneously with the introduction of
Siemens Desiro HC electric multiple units. This would necessarily entail the permanent termination of services on the
Jaffa-Jerusalem railway between
Beit Shemesh
Beit Shemesh ( he, בֵּית שֶׁמֶשׁ ) is a city located approximately west of Jerusalem in Israel's Jerusalem District, with a population of in .
History Tel Beit Shemesh
The small archaeological tell northeast of the modern city w ...
and
Jerusalem–Malha (which have already been suspended indefinitely due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
), as the journey cannot be travelled by Israel Railway's remaining rolling stock.
Technical overview
An IC3 set consists of (as the name implies) three carriages. These are the MFA (passenger and motor carriage), the FF (passenger center carriage) and the MFB (passenger and motor carriage). The MFA and MFB are, from a technical point of view, identical and only differ slightly in the interior design.
The train is powered by four diesel engines, each delivering , giving the train a total to propel it. The engines are mounted in the MFA and MFB carriages, with two engines in each carriage. Each engine drives the axles on the bogies via an electronically controlled automatic gearbox. The engines are mounted so that the end which would normally point forwards in a rear-wheel-drive car, instead faces the center of the MFA and MFB carriages. Due to this mounting design and nature of combustion engines and to the fact that the train runs forward in both directions, a so-called "reverse gear" had to be attached to automatic gearboxes. They are responsible for making the axles turn the right way. These gears are normally not controlled directly by the train's driver; instead, the train's on-board computers check which of the two cabs is active to determine the train's primary driving direction, setting the reverse gears accordingly.
Fleet details
Danish derivatives
The IC3 has not only served as the backbone of the Danish InterCity concept for the past 15 years; it has also served as the foundation and/or inspiration for three other trains. These are the IR4, the IC2, and the Øresundtrain.
IR4 "InterRegional 4"
The first of the IC3's offspring, which is electrically powered. It was originally designed for the Danish regional traffic, but has later been upgraded and is currently also being used in the InterCity traffic, often together with one or more IC3-set(s) on routes which have been electrified. The IR4 consists of 4 carriages (as implied by its name), all of which are similar in design to the MFA/MFB carriages (when viewed from the outside), with a wide set of doors in one end of each carriages. A total of 44 IR4 sets were built, and all sets are still in use. 1 set burned in 2011 but was rebuilt and re-entered service in 2015.
IC2 "InterCity 2"
The second of the IC3's offspring is often described as a "discount edition of the IC3", which is not entirely fair. It was designed in 1992–1993, when some private railway operators in Denmark were looking for new trains. It was originally proposed to be an IC3 with the center carriage (the FF) removed, and without engines in one of the remaining carriages. This design did not entirely satisfy representatives of the private railways, so instead, after some debate, it was redesigned to its current appearance.
The IC2 consists of 2 carriages, the MF and the FS. The MF is a combined engine and passenger carriage, and has its set of doors placed towards the cab of the carriage, actually as close to the bogies as possible. The MF houses the engines, which are mounted under the floor in the middle of the carriage. It has two engines, delivering a total of 627 kW (840 hp), and drives the train in the same way as the MFA/MFB carriages drives the IC3.
The FS is a combined cab and passenger carriage, and has a quite unique look when viewed from the outside. This is due to the "low-floor entrance" feature included in the design, where part of the floor and doors between the two bogies are "sunken" to a height of from the top of the rails. This provides very easy access to the train, especially when bicycles, wheelchairs, and the like need to be put on the train. This easy entrance is because the from the top of the rails, is also the general height within a few centimeters () of platforms on the Danish railway network.
There are some technical differences between the IC2 and the IC3. The most obvious is of course the smaller number of carriages, and other engines (the IC3 has four engines, each delivering approx. ; the IC2 has two engines, each delivering approx. ). Other differences include the way the engines are cooled (the IC3 engines are air-cooled, but due to several technical issues with this system, it were decided to use water-cooled engines), electric-driven AC system (another thing decided after experience with the IC3, which AC system were powered directly from the engines).
Although the IC2 shares its physical profile and physical coupling system with the IC3 and the IR4, they are incapable of actually driving as a companion with those two "relatives". This is because the designers of the computer system which transmits the driver's commands to the engines and gearboxes have not been able to come up with a common system for all three train models. Instead, for the different types to work together, a special interface-module is required. This must be built into each trainset (except from the IC3, from which the original command-signal comes). However, due to financial issues, and the fact that it would probably not be used, this module was not included in the trains (although it can easily be added if needed).
A total of thirteen IC2-sets were built, all of which are in service and operated by
Lokaltog A/S since 2015.
Oresundtrain
The third and newest of the IC3's offspring is specifically designed for use in the regional traffic in areas surrounding the
Oresund Bridge. The train is operated by both
DSB and
SJ Öresund, with the latter being a sister company to
SJ AB
SJ (formally ''SJ AB'') is a government-owned passenger train operator in Sweden. SJ was created in 2001, out of the public transport division of '' Statens Järnvägar'', when the former government agency was divided into six separate governmen ...
. Its formation is ET-FT-ET. The train is electrically powered, and can run on both Danish power (
25 kV, 50 Hz) and Swedish power (
15 kV, 16 Hz). It is called Contessa by its manufacturer, and designated Litra ET in Denmark and X31K in Sweden. Only the front and the cabin are similar to IC3. The wheels, bogies and motors are more similar to
Bombardier Regina
The Regina is a Swedish model of electric multiple unit passenger train, manufactured by Bombardier Transportation (formerly Adtranz). It is used by the national passenger railway SJ along with numerous regional and private operators, in vari ...
and each carriage has two bogies. It is used for the regional cross-border traffic called
Øresundståg, and the train type is also often called that, these trains are used for some other traffic also.
Train fire
Fires on the train sets are not uncommon, with over half of DSB's in service sets having either overheated or suffered from minor burns, however all of these were easy fixes. There have been some incidents where rebuilds were needed.
On 28 December 2010, an IC3 train in Israel caught fire due to a technical failure, injuring 121 people. A soldier shot the windows in order to allow the passengers to escape.
The cause of the fire was not an electrical short, as first suspected, but a mechanical problem with the
cardan joint, which is located next to the fuel tank in the train.
On 30 December 2010
Israel Railways decided on an immediate stoppage of all the IC3s in the fleet, pending further investigation. The ramifications of this decision were the closure of several lines and stations, including
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
and
Dimona and several other suburban lines.
Service was resumed on all routes after modifications were approved.
On 20 October 2016, DSBs set number 51 caught fire in Odense, damaging the MFA significantly. No one was hurt, and the set was moved the day after. Then the rebuilding began, with a Swedish set donating its body to the damaged MFA unit. It was fitted with new engines and seats. The set was put rolling again in 2018, most notable is that this set was the first to be painted in DSBs newly formed design replacing the original grey with red, and the blue lines at the windows, became black. The passenger doors were painted white. Since the set are so far the only set in the new design, many enthusiasts has nicknamed the set “The One and Only”, which slowly has carried over to the personnel as well, although its official name remains “Niels Kjeldsen”.
Notes
See also
*
IE 22000 Class
The 22000 Class "InterCity Railcar" is a diesel multiple unit in service with Iarnród Éireann in Ireland.
They are the first IÉ DMUs built specifically for InterCity routes, although they can also work on some commuter routes. They are design ...
*
IC4
The IC4 is an inter-city rail train built by the Italian train manufacturer AnsaldoBreda for the trans-Great Belt routes of Danske Statsbaner (DSB), Denmark's national railway operator. Under DSB's 'Good trains for everyone' plan ('Gode tog til ...
*
RegioSwinger
The RegioSwinger is a tilting diesel multiple unit (DMU) passenger train used for fast regional traffic on unelectrified lines.
Development and service
The RegioSwinger was first manufactured by Adtranz in Hennigsdorf, before it became part ...
*
SNCB Class AM96
The class 96 (''MS96'' in Dutch, ''AM96'' in French) is an electric multiple unit constructed in 1996 for the National Railway Company of Belgium.
They incorporate features from the DSB IC3 trainsets in order to enable passage from one set coa ...
References
List of all Danish IC3 units - some with pictures and brief information (Danish)
Details on mechanical train transmissions
{{Swedish railway stock
Multiple units of Denmark
Multiple units of Sweden
DSB multiple units
ABB multiple units
Diesel multiple units of Israel
Bombardier Transportation multiple units