NSB Class 5 or B5 is a series of passenger carriages built by

Strømmens Værksted Strømmens Værksted A/S was an industrial company based in Skedsmo, Norway, specialising in the production of rolling stock. Founded in 1873, it remains as a part of Bombardier Transportation. The plant is located just off Hoved Line, Hovedbanen ...

for the

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 ...

. Built between 1977 and 1981, they went through a major upgrade between 2008 and 2012. Sixty-three units were delivered. Each is long, wide, and tall. They weigh and have a maximum permitted speed of . They are used predominantly on the

Dovre Line The Dovre Line ( no, Dovrebanen) is a Norwegian railway line with three slightly different lines which all lead to the historic city of Trondheim. Definition *Dovre Line is the current name of the 548 km main line of the Norwegian railway s ...

, the

Nordland Line The Nordland Line ( no, Nordlandsbanen, ) is a railway line between Trondheim and Bodø, Norway. It is the longest in Norway and lacks electrification. The route runs through the counties of Trøndelag (formerly Sør-Trøndelag and Nord-Trøndel ...

and the

Vestfold Line The Vestfold Line ( no, Vestfoldbanen) is a railway line which runs between Drammen and Eidanger in Norway. The line connects to the Drammen Line at the northern terminus at Drammen Station and continues as the Bratsberg Line past Skien Station ...

. Coach types before upgrade: All A3s and BF13s, and some BF14s, are withdrawn. Coach types after upgrade 2010-2012: The first upgraded coaches were used on the Vestfold Line (Oslo-Skien) from 20 June 2011. As of December 2013 only upgraded coaches are used in ordinary traffic with passengers, except a couple of old BF14 that are still used in combination with B3 coaches on the Oslo-Bergen line. A few old coaches have been transferred to Jernbaneverket and the Norwegian Railway Museum.

Renovation

As part of a larger renovation program which also included the B7 carriages and the Class 69 trains, 56 B5 cars were renovated at

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 ...

's plant in Hungary. The purpose of the upgrade was to provide commuters along the Vestfold Line with an intermediate upgrade while waiting for the delivery of Class 74

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 which were scheduled for delivery in 2010. The set consists of seven sets of eight carriages. When the Class 74 trains are delivered, NSB will move the B5 cars to the Nordland Line and the Dovre Line, where they will also be equipped with a

dining car A dining car (American English) or a restaurant car (British English), also a diner, is a railroad passenger car that serves meals in the manner of a full-service, sit-down restaurant. It is distinct from other railroad food service cars that do ...

. The process is more than two years delayed, and the first set was planned to be delivered in 2008. With the new schedule, the last sets will be delivered in 2012. Upgrades include new, now closed, toilets, new seating, power outlets,

air conditioning Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C or AC, is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior environment (sometimes referred to as 'comfort cooling') and in some cases also strictly controlling ...

and NSB's new red, silver and orange livery. In addition, they will receive new

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. After delivery, the carriages will have to be test-run for up to six months before being approved by the

Norwegian Railway Inspectorate The Norwegian Railway Authority ( no, Statens jernbanetilsyn) is a Norwegian government agency responsible for practical control and supervision of rail transport in Norway, including railways, tramways, rapid transits, heritage railways a ...

. During the upgrade,

asbestos Asbestos () is a naturally occurring fibrous silicate mineral. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous crystals, each fibre being composed of many microscopic "fibrils" that can be released into the atmosphere b ...

was found, which was one of the main causes of the delay. Originally the upgrade was budgeted to cost 500 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), but with the extra work the bill increased by NOK 200 million. Another cause was that NSB switched their supplier of heating, air conditioning and ventilation. In September 2009, Bombardier sued NSB in an

arbitration Arbitration is a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) that resolves disputes outside the judiciary courts. The dispute will be decided by one or more persons (the 'arbitrators', 'arbiters' or 'arbitral tribunal'), which renders the ...

, demanding NOK 172 million in extra payment. NSB, on the other hand, has sued Bombardier for the same amount of money. The companies have agreed on part of the compensation, although how much the total will be, is the issue of the case. Finally Bombardier had to pay NOK 73 million to NSB.

References

External links

Tønsbergs Blad - Pictures of coaches upgraded in 2011

Long distance trains in Norway - Train configurations and seating maps
{{NSB stock Railway coaches of Norway Vehicles introduced in 1977