The Type DT3 is a three-car electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated by the

Hamburger Hochbahn AG Hamburger Hochbahn AG (HHA), founded in 1911, operates the underground system and large parts of the bus system in Hamburg, Germany. History The HHA was founded by Siemens & Halske and AEG as a consortium on 27 May 1911. The first chairman w ...

on the

Hamburg U-Bahn The Hamburg U-Bahn is a rapid transit system serving the cities of Hamburg, Norderstedt and Ahrensburg in Germany. Although referred to by the term U-Bahn (the "U" commonly being understood as standing for "underground"), most of the system's t ...

.They were first introduced in 1968 to replace the 1911 to 1929-built Type T cars and to speed up the journey times on line U1.

Variants

*DT3: non-refurbished sets, all withdrawn *DT3-LZB: sets 921 to 926 fitted with

Linienzugbeeinflussung Linienzugbeeinflussung (or LZB) is a cab signalling and train protection system used on selected German and Austrian railway lines as well as on the AVE and some commuter rail lines in Spain. The system was mandatory where trains were allowed ...

(LZB) in 1980/1981 *DT3-E: trains refurbished from 1995 to 2000 with new polyester cabs *DT3-N: ten refurbished sets used as spare cars File:Saarlandstraße - Hamburg (13284980545).jpg, DT3-E with new polyester cab

Interior

The trains have a 2+1 seating arrangement. Refurbished trains are equipped with a passenger information system since 2000. File:DT3-E Hamburg Innenraum.JPG, Interior of a refurbished DT3-E train

Technical specifications

The trains are built to an

articulated An articulated vehicle is a vehicle which has a permanent or semi-permanent pivot joint in its construction, allowing it to turn more sharply. There are many kinds, from heavy equipment to buses, trams and trains. Steam locomotives were sometim ...

design, and are formed as three-car sets. The end cars are based on the Type DT2, with a long intermediate car in-between. They are equipped with high voltage cam switches,

quill drive A quill is a writing tool made from a moulted flight feather (preferably a primary wing-feather) of a large bird. Quills were used for writing with ink before the invention of the dip pen, the metal- nibbed pen, the fountain pen, and, eventuall ...

, and a microprocessor-controlled

wheel slide protection Wheel slide protection and wheel slip protection are railway terms used to describe automatic systems used to detect and prevent wheel-slide during braking or wheel-slip during acceleration. This is analogous to ABS and traction control systems u ...

system. File:UbahncockpitDT3.jpg, Driver's cab of a DT3 File:Hamburg U-Bahn Hauptbahnhof Nord.JPG, Side shot of a DT3 at Hauptbahnhof Nord station

DT3-LZB

Six sets were fitted with

(LZB) in 1980 and 1981 and were used for driverless operation trials on the line to Großhansdorf station. The automatic operation was observed by a conductor permanently sitting in the cab, they also had to dispatch the train in stations. The experimental operation ended in 1985, since then the units were in normal operation. During the refurbishment of many DT3 units in the 1990s, the DT3-LZB only received the interior and car body refurbishment and did not get their front replaced. The LZB trains all were retired on 9th December 2016 and scrapped in April 2017.

History

The trains were built between 1968 and 1971. 18 sets were scrapped in 2017.

Refurbishment

Many of the units were rebuilt between 1995 and 2000 and received a newly designed polyester front, a new interior design, and windows between the cars and between the driver's cab and passenger compartment. The rebuilding became necessary due to structural issues with

rust Rust is an iron oxide, a usually reddish-brown oxide formed by the reaction of iron and oxygen in the catalytic presence of water or air moisture. Rust consists of hydrous iron(III) oxides (Fe2O3·nH2O) and iron(III) oxide-hydroxide (FeO( ...

on load-bearing parts of the car bodies. The rebuilt units are designated as ''DT3-E''. A total of 62 units were refurbished as of August 2005, the rest of the units were replaced by new DT4 units, retired and scrapped between 1996 and 2003. In June 2015, the operator Hamburger Hochbahn announced another refurbishment for ten DT3-E units to extend their lifespan for ten more years. This refurbishment will include the replacement of the old control equipment, the fitting of doors closing alarms, as well as the renewal of the interior and car bodies. The improvement is going to make the refurbished cars incompatible to the other DT3-E, thus they will be designated as "DT3-N" to distinguish them from non-refurbished cars.

References

External links

Hochbahn fleet information
{{Hamburg U bahn stock Hamburg U-Bahn Electric multiple units of Germany 750 V DC multiple units