The Stadtbahnwagen Typ B (translation ''Type "B" Light Rail Vehicle'', short form B-Wagen) is a light rail vehicle used by several

Stadtbahn ' (; German for "city railway"; plural ') is a German word referring to various types of urban rail transport. One type of transport originated in the 19th century, firstly in Berlin and followed by Vienna, where rail routes were created that co ...

networks in the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

state of

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...

. It was mainly developed by

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

-based

Duewag Düwag or Duewag, formerly Waggonfabrik Uerdingen, was a German manufacturer of rail vehicles. It was sold in 1999 to Siemens with the brand later retired. History Duewag was founded in March 1898 as Waggonfabrik Uerdingen in Uerdingen an ...

, who also built the majority of vehicles in a consortium with

Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad. The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', '' ...

and

Kiepe Kiepe Electric GmbH (formerly Vossloh Kiepe) is a German manufacturer of electrical traction equipment for trams, trolleybuses other road and rail transport vehicles, as well as air-conditioning and heating systems, and conveyor device components. ...

. A small series of ten units was built by

Waggon Union ''Waggon Union'' was a German manufacturer of rail vehicles and bus bodies, that was also known as ''Deutsche Waggon und Maschinenfabrik'' (German Wagon and Machines Factory) or DWM. The company was based in Berlin and was originally a branch o ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. As the type evolved over two decades of production, some vehicles have little more in common than their outer dimensions and the basic configuration of a two-part multiple unit on three bogies with both outer ones powered. For the

Dortmund Dortmund (; Westphalian nds, Düörpm ; la, Tremonia) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the eighth-largest city of Germany, with a population of 588,250 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the la ...

Stadtbahn, some cars were modified with a central section and a fourth bogie. These vehicles are referred to as ''B8'' or '' B80C/8'' (eight axles). These vehicles have a length of and a weight of .

History

When the

Rhine-Ruhr The Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region (german: Metropolregion Rhein-Ruhr) is the largest metropolitan region in Germany, with over ten million inhabitants. A polycentric conurbation with several major urban concentrations, the region covers ...

Stadtbahn network was planned in the early 1970s, standardised rolling stock was planned as well. At the same time, a second Stadtbahn network was planned for Cologne and Bonn. Because the future

Cologne Stadtbahn The Cologne Stadtbahn is a light rail system in the German city of Cologne, including several surrounding cities of the Cologne Bonn Region (Bergisch Gladbach, Bonn, Bornheim, Brühl, Frechen, Hürth, Leverkusen-Schlebusch, Wesseling). The t ...

already had one finished tunnel, that was built with the city's own money with streetcars in mind, the ''Stadtbahnwagen'' designed for the Rhine-Ruhr network was not suitable. So, another vehicle was designed for the Cologne/Bonn network, that was capable of driving though tighter curves. This vehicle, now referred to as ''Stadtbahnwagen Typ B'' was immediately ordered by transport authorities in Cologne and Bonn, while Rhine-Ruhr authorities remained hesitant about "their" vehicle, now renamed ''Stadtbahnwagen Typ A''. Eventually it was decided that the type "A" LRV was too unwieldy and type "B" LRVs were ordered by

Essen Essen (; Latin: ''Assindia'') is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and D ...

Mülheim Mülheim, officially Mülheim an der Ruhr () and also described as ''"City on the River"'', is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. It is located in the Ruhr Area between Duisburg, Essen, Oberhausen and Ratingen. It is home to many compan ...

Duisburg Duisburg () is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine and the Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruhr Region, Duisburg is the 5th largest city in Nor ...

and

Bochum Bochum ( , also , ; wep, Baukem) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia. With a population of 364,920 (2016), is the sixth largest city (after Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Essen and Duisburg) of the most populous Germany, German federal state o ...

. The type "A" concept, which consists of close coupled two-car sets, was shelved and later revived for the

Stuttgart Stadtbahn The Stuttgart Stadtbahn is a light rail system in Stuttgart, Germany. The Stadtbahn began service on 28 September 1985. It is operated by the Stuttgarter Straßenbahnen AG (SSB), which also operates the bus systems in that city. The Stuttga ...

. The ''Typ B'' formed the basis for the British-built Metrocars on the

Tyne and Wear Metro The Tyne and Wear Metro is an overground and underground light rail rapid transit system serving Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, and the City of Sunderland (together forming Tyne and Wear). The network opened in ...

, which opened in 1980.

Subtypes

Different variants are usually referred to by a combination of their top speed and a letter denoting the engine type. {, class="wikitable" , B100S , , , Schützensteuerung (

contactor :''In semiconductor testing, contactors can also be referred to as the specialized socket that connects the device under test.'' :''In process industries, a contactor is a vessel where two streams interact, for example, air and liquid. See Gas- ...

control) , - , B80C , , , Chopper control , - , B80D , , {{cvt, 80, km/h, mph, Drehstromantrieb (three-phase motors) Image:SWB8452.jpg, Second-generation body Image:U35 Hustadt3.jpg, Third-generation body Duewag tram vehicles Tram vehicles of Germany Electric multiple units of Germany 750 V DC multiple units