The n-Wagen ("n-coaches") are a type of
passenger coach
A passenger railroad car or passenger car (United States), also called a passenger carriage, passenger coach (United Kingdom and International Union of Railways), or passenger bogie (India) is a railroad car that is designed to carry passen ...
used by
Deutsche Bundesbahn and subsequently
Deutsche Bahn
The (; abbreviated as DB or DB AG) is the national railway company of Germany. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG). The Federal Republic of Germany is its single shareholder.
describes itself as the se ...
. With two double-leafed doors per side to enable a high passenger throughput rate, the coaches were conceived for short
dwell times in
commuter and
regional transit. Succeeding the , 5,000 units were built from 1958 to 1981, with some remaining in service still today.
Origin of the name
The
UIC classification identifier letter "n" is an abbreviation for Nahverkehr ("local transit"); the complete description is ''local transit passenger coach (Nahverkehrswagen) with a length of over 24.5 metres,
open coach
An open coach is a railway passenger coach that does not have compartments or other divisions within it and in which the seats are arranged in one or more open plan areas with a centre aisle. The first open coaches appeared in the first half of t ...
with centre aisle in 2nd class, centre aisle or side corridor in 1st class, two centre doors, with 36-pole control cable for
push-pull operations.''
The term ''Silberling'' (from German ''Silber'', "silver") derives from the coaches'
stainless steel
Stainless steel is an alloy of iron that is resistant to rusting and corrosion. It contains at least 11% chromium and may contain elements such as carbon, other nonmetals and metals to obtain other desired properties. Stainless steel's corros ...
body, which was originally unpainted, giving them a unique silver look.
Technical data
Type overview
* Indicator z: Central control (''Zugsammelschiene'')
* Indicator r: disc brakes
See also
*
Rail transport in Germany
, Germany had a railway network of , of which were electrified and were double track. Germany is a member of the International Union of Railways (UIC). The UIC Country Code for Germany is 80.
Germany was ranked fourth among national European r ...
*
History of rail transport in Germany
Railway coaches of Germany
{{Germany-rail-transport-stub