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NSB Class 72 ( no, NSB type 72) is a class of 36
electric multiple unit An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number ...
s built by
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 ...
for the Norwegian State Railways (now Vy). Delivered between 2002 and 2005, the four-car units operate on the
Oslo Commuter Rail Oslo Commuter Rail ( no, Lokaltog Østlandet) is a commuter rail centered in Oslo, Norway, connecting the capital to six counties in Eastern Norway. The system is operated by Vy (formerly NSB) and its subsidiary Vy Gjøvikbanen, using Class 6 ...
and the
Jæren Commuter Rail The Jæren Commuter Rail ( no, Jærbanen) is a commuter train service operated along the westernmost part of the Sørland Line in Jæren, Norway. It is operated by Go-Ahead Norge with nine NSB Class 72, Class 72 electric multiple units. The ser ...
. The trains have a capacity of 310 passengers and the motors allow a maximum speed of . The trains were ordered in 1997, with original delivery dates in 2001 and 2002. NSB also had an option to buy 40 additional units. The first units were not delivered until 2002, and by 2004, still half the trains were not in use. Faults included rust, too heavy train weight, and signaling problems. After the initial troubles, the Class 72 has been a highly successful train for NSB and well liked by the maintenance workers. __TOC__


History

By the mid-1990s, NSB was in need of new electric multiple units to supplement and replace the company's aging fleet of Class 69 units. At the time, NSB had 60 Class 69 units operating in the Oslo area, of which at any time four to eight were out of service. In 1997, NSB stated that they intended to order 36 new units, of which 18 would replace aging units and 18 would be used to increase services. This was seen as the first step in an order of 100 new EMUs that would be needed in the coming 20 years. The order was part of a holistic ordering program through which NSB in the late 1990s ordered the
El 18 EL, El or el may refer to: Religion * El (deity), a Semitic word for "God" People * EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer * El DeBarge, music artist * El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American ...
, Di 6, the Class 71, Class 73 and Class 93. In August, NSB stated that there were three bidders for the local train class, which would consist of a firm order for 36 units with an option for another 20 units. The bidders were Ansaldo, GEC Alstom and Adtranz, where Adtranz had the only bid which would involve construction in Norway. On 26 September 1997, NSB announced that they would order 36 new trains from Ansaldo, with an option for an additional 40 units. Each train would cost 50 million
Norwegian krone The krone (, abbreviation: kr (also NKr for distinction); code: NOK), plural ''kroner'', is currency of the Kingdom of Norway (including Svalbard). Traditionally known as the Norwegian crown in English. It is nominally subdivided into 100 ...
(NOK), and NSB had 28 months to use their option. NSB's CEO,
Osmund Ueland Osmund Ueland (born 27 September 1947) is a Norwegian civil servant and former CEO of Norges Statsbaner (NSB). An engineer by education, he worked for Aker from 1975 to 1990. From 1990 to 1994 he headed the Lillehammer Olympic Organising Committe ...
, stated that Ansaldo had been chosen because they had the best technical offer and had by far the lowest price. The new trains would have 35% lower maintenance costs and use 33% less electricity than the Class 69. The new trains would also have a higher maximum speed, have wider doors and make less noise. The electronics would be delivered by Ansaldo, the superstructure by
Breda Breda () is a city and municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Brabant. The name derived from ''brede Aa'' ('wide Aa' or 'broad Aa') and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. Breda has ...
and 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 ...
s by
Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places *Swiss, Missouri *Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia *Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports * Swiss Internationa ...
(SLM). The estimated date of delivery for the trains was from 1 July 2000 to 1 July 2001. The exterior and interior design was made by
Pininfarina Pininfarina S.p.A. (short for Carrozzeria Pininfarina) is an Italian car design firm and coachbuilder, with headquarters in Cambiano, Turin, Italy. The company was founded by Battista "Pinin" Farina in 1930. On 14 December 2015, the Indian ...
, with assistance from NSB's own designers. The latter were used to tailor the design to the Norwegian public's preferences, which among other things involved use of wood in the interior. At the time, Ansaldo also had an order for the
Oslo Tramway The Oslo tram network ( no, Trikken i Oslo, short from ', 'electric') is the tram system in Oslo, Norway. It consists of six lines with 99 stops and has a daily ridership of 132,000. It is operated by , a subsidiary of the municipally-owned who ...
's SL95. In 1999, NSB announced that they would be rebranding their services, and that commuter trains would be branded at
NSB Puls NSB may refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * Natural Snow Buildings, a French experimental music duo * Nihilist Spasm Band, Canadian free improvisation musical collective *Nu skool breaks, a subgenre of breakbeat music originating during the ...
. They would lose their traditional red color and instead be colored green and silver, with the Class 72 being the first trains to receive the new design. In February 2001, the first train arrived to Norway for testing. The delay was caused by errors in the drawings and the bankruptcy of a supplier. In April it was announced that the trains were too heavy to allow
standing passenger In urban public transport, provision is made for standing passengers, often called straphangers or standees, to rationalize operation and to provide extra capacity during rush hour. Occurrence On crowded rapid transit urban lines, while most tr ...
s, since the trains could then exceed the permitted axle weight. To reduce the weight, the trains needed to have some steel parts replaced with aluminium. NSB stated that the situation was problematic both because they had calculated the need for standing places to handle rush-hour traffic, and because it was impossible for them to control if more people than there were seats for would board a train. NSB stated that part of the problem was that they could not order shelf ware, in part because the Norwegian
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 ...
is wider than in
Continental Europe Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous continent of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by ...
. By September, a solution had been found whereby the weight had been reduced sufficiently that 350 standing passengers could be taken on each train. The trains were delivered with the train radio system
Scanet Scanet is a defunct, analog train radio system used by the Norwegian State Railways (NSB) and later the Norwegian National Rail Administration. The system was developed by Ascom Radiocom and was installed on the primary railways in Norway betwe ...
, but the technology was so out of date that there was only a five-year warranty. At the time, it was uncertain when
Global System for Mobile Communications – Railway GSM-R, Global System for Mobile Communications – Railway or GSM-Railway is an international wireless communications standard for railway communication and applications. A sub-system of European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS), it is use ...
(GSM-R) would be built for the Norwegian rail network, and NSB feared there could arise a situation in which the trains could not be used, if the construction were not accelerated. The first scheduled service with a Class 72 train occurred on 8 August 2002 on the Jæren Commuter Rail. NSB stated that they had never previously spent so much time testing equipment before putting it into service, and that the Jæren had been chosen for the introduction because the single-line system was easier to operate than the services around Oslo. The company also stated that they hoped all the trains would be in service by the end of 2003. By January 2003, half the trains had been delivered, and were gradually being put into service on the Oslo Commuter Rail. However, on the Gardermoen Line the electronics from the train were interfering with the signaling systems, so the lights would switch from green to red before the train passed, instead of afterwards. This made it impossible for the NSB to put the train into service on Norway's only high-speed line. Another problem was that the trains would not close the doors if they were at a station without level tracks, although this was quickly solved. In 2003, NSB decided to abandon the Puls concept, and revert to the former single-profile strategy. By February 2003, only five of the trains were in operation. Four were being used on the Jæren Commuter Rail, while one was being used on the line between
Moss Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta ('' sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and ...
and
Spikkestad Spikkestad is a village in the municipality of Asker, in the province of Viken, Norway. Its current population (2022) is between 4000 and 5000. Spikkestad is located in the northern part of the peninsula of Hurumlandet, closer to the Drammensfj ...
. A few were still in Italy, a few at the docks in Drammen, while most of the trains were stored at Sundland in Drammen where AnsaldoBreda had employed 40 Italian engineers who worked 60-hour shifts to make the trains work. At the time they were finishing one train per month. By June, all seven trains had been taken into use in Jæren, and the first four trains could be put into service on the route from
Kongsberg Kongsberg () is a historical mining town and municipality in Buskerud, Viken county, Norway. The city is located on the river Numedalslågen at the entrance to the valley of Numedal. Kongsberg has been a centre of silver mining, arms produ ...
via the Gardermoen Line to
Eidsvoll Eidsvoll (; sometimes written as ''Eidsvold'') is a municipality in Akershus in Viken county, Norway. It is part of the Romerike traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Sundet. General information ...
. In January 2004, rust was found on the axles of the trains. NSB would not accept to take delivery of the last 18 units before this problem had been fixed, and stated that no more money would be paid to the manufacturer until all 36 trains were delivered and without defects. By 2004, Ansaldo and Breda had merged to AnsaldoBreda, while SLM had been bought 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 ...
. The latter would not deliver the axles to AnsaldoBreda because of a disagreement between Bombardier and SLM's previous owner, Sulzer, regarding who was to pay for the axles. This caused Bombardier to cease all work with the delivery from mid-2003. In October 2004, the trains were put into service on the route between Moss and Spikkestad. Eleven will be operated by
Go-Ahead Norge Go-Ahead Norge is a railway operator in Norway that commenced operations in December 2019. It is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group. The branding used is Go-Ahead Nordic. History In October 2018, Go-Ahead Norge was awarded an eight-year contract ...
from December 2019.


Operators


Norwegian State Railways Vygruppen, branded as Vy, is a government-owned railway company which operates most passenger train services and many bus services in Norway. The company is owned by the Norwegian Ministry of Transport. Its sub-brands include Vy Buss coach ...

The NSB operates a fleet of 36 trains.


Specifications

Class 72 is a four-car electric multiple unit built by AnsaldoBreda. The trains are long, wide and tall, weigh and run on
standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in E ...
track. The electric power is gathered by a
pantograph A pantograph (, from their original use for copying writing) is a mechanical linkage connected in a manner based on parallelograms so that the movement of one pen, in tracing an image, produces identical movements in a second pen. If a line dr ...
from a
overhead wire An overhead line or overhead wire is an electrical cable that is used to transmit electrical energy to electric locomotives, trolleybuses or trams. It is known variously as: * Overhead catenary * Overhead contact system (OCS) * Overhead equipm ...
, and gives a power output of . The trains have a maximum speed of . There are eight doors per side, and a passenger capacity of 310 seated passengers. Each train has one handicap seating place and one toilet.


References

{{NSB stock 72 AnsaldoBreda multiple units Pininfarina Vehicles introduced in 2002 15 kV AC multiple units