The CargoSprinter is a

freight multiple unit A multiple-unit train or simply multiple unit (MU) is a self-propelled train composed of one or more carriages joined together, which when coupled to another multiple unit can be controlled by a single driver, with multiple-unit train contro ...

designed to transport freight or equipment. The CargoSprinter was designed by

Windhoff GmbH Windhoff is a German manufacturer of specialised railways rolling stock, and heavy industrial plant. The company was founded in 1889. The company is well known for its CargoSprinter rail vehicle, and derivatives. History The company started out ...

(Germany) in the mid-1990s. Initially seven vehicles were built for

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 ...

. Four were built by Windhoff and had the reporting code ''DB class 690''. Another three closely similar units were built by Waggonfabrik Talbot ('Talbot Talion') and given the reporting code ''DB class 691''. The design did not lead to further freight work, several of the trains were later converted for other uses including tunnel rescue trains. A variant for infrastructure and service trains, named the ''Multi Purpose Vehicle'' has been sold to a number of countries, mainly for use by rail infrastructure companies, including the United Kingdom (

Railtrack Railtrack was a group of companies that owned the track, signalling, tunnels, bridges, level crossings and all but a handful of the stations of the British railway system from 1994 until 2002. It was created as part of the privatisation of ...

; track maintenance and specialised overhead electrification train), Switzerland (specialised tunnel rescue and firefighting version), and the Netherlands and Taiwan (maintenance of high speed lines).

History and design

The CargoSprinter was developed in 1996 by Windhoff in association with freight operators DB Cargo and

Fraport Fraport AG Frankfurt Airport Services Worldwide, The concept was for a self powered container carrying freight train, with a relatively high top speed enabling it to operate without disrupting passenger services. * The train was a five-car permanently connected set of container-carrying vehicles (capacity ~10 TEU), with driving cab at each end (motorised with underfloor engines), and capable of being easily connected and worked in multiple with other CargoSprinter trains. The original designs were taken from concept stage to production in 12 months. The new concept was optimistically received as offering a step change in rail freight transportation, allowing rapid efficient transport of less than

trainload A unit train, also called a block train or a trainload service, is a train in which all cars (wagons) carry the same commodity and are shipped from the same origin to the same destination, without being split up or stored en route. They are disti ...

and shortline freight, 7 vehicles were initially built (1997) for trials with

. In practice the CargoSprinter concept was not a success as a commercial freight vehicle, trials of the vehicles did not lead to regular work. Ex-freight trial vehicles later found use modified for specialised roles, such as tunnel rescue, and hybrid powered freight trains. The design was more successful as an infrastructure and services train: in 1998 Windhoff received a 57DM million order from

(UK) for 25 trains derived from the CargoSprinter type, named ''Multi-purpose vehicles'' (MPVs), developed in association with AMEC Rail; the trains were to be used for infrastructure maintenance including rail deicing, and railhead treatment, 7 more sets were acquired in 2000. In 2002 the CargoSprinter train was used as the mechanical basis of the '' CargoMover'' automated freight wagon concept developed by

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'', '' ...

. Other specialised designs based on the Windhoff MPV include a dedicated fire fighting and tunnel rescue trains (Switzerland; 2003, Austria; 2004), and railway overhead electrification factory trains for both wire renewal, and overhead line construction. (UK; 2000, 2011) MPV vehicles are also in use by rail infrastructure companies in Taiwan (2007–) and the Netherlands (2007–).

Build history and operators

Germany

Three units were constructed by Windhoff, and four by Talbot, with the first unit operational in 1997; both were broadly similar in design with the same operating characteristics, the Talbot built vehicles (branded ''Talion'') differed in having inner unpowered wagons articulated using jacobs bogies. The CargoSprinter trains operated between the intermodal rail terminal ''Rail AirCargo Station'' at

Frankfurt Airport Frankfurt Airport (; german: link=no, Flughafen Frankfurt Main , also known as ''Rhein-Main-Flughafen'') is a major international airport located in Frankfurt, the fifth-largest city of Germany and one of the world's leading financial centres ...

, Hamburg, Osnabrück, and

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

and between 1997 and 1999, carrying two trains per day: the equivalent of 5,000 lorry loads per year. The service was initially successful with high reliability and full utilisation; work on the connecting railway line in the second year of operation disrupted the service, causing loss of custom leading to the termination of the service. Sources * * * From 2000 the units were out of service, one was used for the Siemens' CargoMover experimental freight vehicle which was displayed at Innotrans in 2002. The remaining vehicles were offered for sale in 2004, and acquired for use in Austria as tunnel rescue trains.

Technical description

Both variants of the design (DB 690 'CargoSprinter' and DB 691 'Talion') are five-car trains, with a control cabin at either end. The end cars are powered, with the inner axles individually driven by Volvo engines (6 cylinder, @ 2,050 rpm, emissions to Euro stage II standards). The transmission system uses a (5-speed) mechanical gearbox with clutch, torque converter, and retarder. Fuel capacity is 700l. All the traction equipment is located below the cargo floor level.Sources: *A Kückelmann (1997), "Entwicklung und Bau des CargoSprinters" *C. Dorn (1997), "Der CargoSprinter — ein Baustein für den irtschaftlichen Erfolg auf der Schiene" * * * The vehicles main frames are constructed from welded steel; there are two longitudinal support beams and several transverse members (example: Windhoff intermediate cars). The driving vehicle bogies have rubber primary suspension. The Windhoff unpowered vehicles use leaf spring primary suspension. the Talbot vehicles use rubber. All train axles have disc brakes. The vehicles are within the EBO G2 structure gauge. The end cabs have airconditioning, and are heated using waste heat from the diesel engine cooling system; the cabins are isolated from frame vibrations by an air-suspension system. The cab control systems use electronic multifunction display, and joystick control. The trains are permanently coupled whilst in service, and can work in multiple forming consists of up to (7 trains, 35 cars) – the inter-trainset coupling is via a Z-AK type automatic coupler, which includes electrical connections for power and data. Both Windhoff and Talbot trains are operationally compatible; differences between the versions include the electronic control systems, minor differences in dimension, and the wheel arrangement. The three intermediate unpowered vehicles in the Windhoff CargoSprinter are two axle wagons, the Talbot intermediate unpowered cars use two axle jacobs articulation between the wagons, and two axle bogies on the end wagons.

Austria

Unused ex-DB 690 and DB 691 units were sold to the Austrian Federal Railways in 2004, and converted to tunnel rescue trains (ÖBB X690).

Australia

CRT Group CRT Group is an intermodal transport company in Australia. It was founded in 1954 as Colin Rees Transport, a taxi truck company in Sydney. In 1981 it became known as the CRT Group, and by the time of its acquisition by QR National in June 2005, ...

order CargoSprinter in 2001, and introduced the first CargoSprinter to Australia in 2002. The Australian CargoSprinters have similar technical characteristics as the original versions built for Deutsche Bahn: Push-pull operation, with 2 Volvo EU Tier II engines with 5 speed transmissions per powered end unit; a cargo capacity of 2 TEU per vehicle; all wheels disc braked; air suspended cabin with air conditioning; and the ability to work in multiple train-units; and a top speed of . Whilst CRT was acquired by Queensland Rail the CargoSprinter was retained as part of a private company by CRT director Colin Rees. In 2004 Colin Rees announced that a more powerful version of the design was being developed, with double the capacity.

Netherlands

In 2000 independent Dutch railway company Shortlines announced that it had placed a 5DM million order for CargoSprinter trains with Windoff, to operate a freight train for

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters i ...

between

Eindhoven Eindhoven () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of North Brabant of which it is its largest. With a population of 238,326 on 1 January 2022,Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

. The use of CargoSprinters was cancelled due to time and cost issues relating to installing ATB safety system on the trains. In 2007 Windhoff acquired a contract to supply two MPV vehicles were supplied to

Infraspeed Infraspeed is the builder and infrastructure maintenance company of the HSL-Zuid high-speed line in the Netherlands. History Infraspeed BV was created in 1999 by a consortium of Fluor Infrastructure (part of Fluor Corporation), Siemens Nederland ( ...

for infrastructure work on the

HSL Zuid The HSL-Zuid ( nl, Hogesnelheidslijn Zuid, en, High-speed Line South), is a 125 kilometre-long (78 miles) Dutch high-speed railway line running between the Amsterdam metropolitan area and the Belgian border, with a branch to Breda, North ...

in the Netherlands. The design is powered by engines, and has a top speed of .Source: * *

Norway

Jernbaneverket The Norwegian National Rail Administration ( no, Jernbaneverket) was a etat, government agency responsible for owning, maintaining, operating and developing the rail transport in Norway, Norwegian railway network, including the Rail tracks, track, ...

ordered 11 track and catenary maintenance vehicles in 2014, for delivery from 2016.

Switzerland

A fire-fighting train, the LRZ NT (''Lösch- und Rettungszug Neue Technologie'') was developed by Windhoff and partners (2003) for Swiss rail operators Bern-Lötschberg-Simplon (BLS) and

Swiss Federal Railways Swiss Federal Railways (german: link=no, Schweizerische Bundesbahnen, ''SBB''; french: link=no, Chemins de fer fédéraux suisses, ''CFF''; it, Ferrovie federali svizzere, ''FFS'') is the national railway company of Switzerland. It is usuall ...

(SBB-CFF-FFS) for initial use on the Lötschberg Base Tunnel. Windhoff supplied the basic train technology, derived from their MPV design. SBB acquired a three vehicle two engined train, whilst BLS acquired a four-vehicle, three-engined train (both with one unpowered vehicle). The SBB trains comprise one fire fighting vehicle, one non-powered vehicle with the water/foam supply and breathable air supply, and a rescue vehicle with space for 60 people. The BLS train has an additional rescue vehicle. Both versions are powered by MTU 6H1800 R80 type engines of power.Sources: * * In 2009 an ex-DB CargoSprinter (DB 691-502) machine was used as part of a new train design, named ''RailXpress'' – the design used a remote control modified CargoSprinter control car at one end as a control car and for shunting on non-electrified lines. At the other end of the train an electric locomotive (such as SBB Re 420) was used for mainline work, operating trains of at up to . Sources: * * A related design for transportation of construction materials (gravel) also began operation in 2009, named ''Marti Express Shuttle''; the trains consist of a converted ex-DB (Talbot) driving vehicle, 8 intermediate four axle wagons, and an electric locomotive – the train has a carrying capacity of up to . In 2012 SBB ordered 2 additional LRZs for the Gotthard Base Tunnel from a Windhoff / Dräger consortium. In 2015 SBB ordered 35 track maintenance vehicles for delivery from 2017 to 2021. In 2016 SBB ordered 3 additional LRZs from a Windhoff / Dräger consortium, for the CEVA line,

Ceneri Base Tunnel The Ceneri Base Tunnel (CBT, it, Galleria di base del Monte Ceneri) is a Swiss railway base tunnel in the canton of Ticino. It passes under Monte Ceneri between Camorino in the Magadino Flat and Vezia near Lugano; it bypasses the former high-a ...

, and the

Lötschberg The Lötschberg is an Alpine mountain massif and usually associated with a major, historically important transit axis of the Alps in Switzerland with, at its core, the Lötschen Pass (german: Lötschenpass, Swiss German: ''Lötschepass''). The m ...

and

Simplon Tunnel , it, Galleria del Sempione , line = Simplon line, (Lötschberg railway line) , location = Traversing the Lepontine Alps between Switzerland and Italy , coordinates = – , system = Swiss Federal Railways (SBB CFF FF ...

Taiwan

In 2007/8 Windhoff manufactured and supplied six MPV derived trains for infrastructure maintenance work on the Taiwan High Speed Rail line.Sources: * *

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, infrastructure operator

ordered 25 two-car units in 1998.Sources: * * The first 25 trainsets had only one driving car powered. An additional order for 7 more trainsets was placed in 2000 – these units had both end cars powered giving a top speed of . The vehicles are used for weedkilling, de-icing, and water-jetting and sandite treatment of the railhead. The MPV vehicles have also been proposed for use in revenue earning freight train services; ISO container transportation using a MPV power cars and conventional container wagons was experimentally trialled in 2000; containers were transported from the

Port of Southampton The Port of Southampton is a passenger and cargo port in the central part of the south coast of England. The modern era in the history of the Port of Southampton began when the first dock was inaugurated in 1843. The port has been owned and op ...

to terminals in Birmingham and Barking. and technically successful trials with a two MPV power cars and 7 OTA two-axle timber wagons were carried out in 2005. Two factory train for renewing overhead line equipment on the

West Coast Mainline The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...

was ordered in 1999, and delivered in 2000. Each train-consist was made up of five separable autonomous units (four of which were single-ended MPVs); the entire train is fitted for multiple working allowing self powered transportation to a work site. In operation the train-consist splits into five sub-trains: the first unit is used to dismantle and recover previously installed wire; the second unit replaces catenary support wires ("droppers"), the third and fourth units install new wire and droppers, and the fifth unit is used for quality control – measuring and recording the new installation. To allow slow speed control the MPVs were fitted with

hydrostatic Fluid statics or hydrostatics is the branch of fluid mechanics that studies the condition of the equilibrium of a floating body and submerged body "fluids at hydrostatic equilibrium and the pressure in a fluid, or exerted by a fluid, on an imme ...

drives. A Windhoff MPV was also used as the basis of a piling train – used to install catenary masts. The piling train including MPV mounted piling hammers (Fambo AB), and installation cranes (Hap, Palfinger).Sources: * * * In 2011 a specialised factory train for overhead line installation was ordered – the initial use of the train was expected to be the electrification of the

Great Western Main Line The Great Western Main Line (GWML) is a main line railway in England that runs westwards from London Paddington to . It connects to other main lines such as those from Reading to Penzance and Swindon to Swansea. Opened in 1841, it was the or ...

(c.2013). The train, named the 'High Output Plant System' train was completed by late 2013. The entire train consisted of a 23 vehicles designed to be split into five separate working sections: two piling sets, one with a vibrating piler, the other with a percussion piler; a concrete mixing set; a structure erection set; and a catenary installation set. In 2016, NI Railways had an MPV delivered to undertake

sandite Sandite is a substance used on railways in the UK, Ireland, US, the Netherlands and Belgium to combat leaves on the line, which can cause train wheels to slip and become damaged with flat spots. Sandite consists of a mixture of sand, antif ...

duties.

References

Literature

* * **''also'' * * *

External links

* *, images of INFRASPEED MPVs (Netherlands) {{German DMUs Non-passenger multiple units