The A TER or A-TER is a family of diesel multiple unit (DMU) trains operated by SNCF on TER regional train services in France and Deutsche Bahn on regional train services in Germany. 377 units were built between 1999 and 2004 by Alstom. There are three classes: Class X 73500, Class X 73900, and DBAG Class 641.
General Information
The trains are single unit railcars. The units were ordered jointly with Deutsche Bahn, with their Class 641 units. They are powered by two MAN engines and have a top speed of .
The trains have modern features which were new to TER trains, such as:
- Passenger Information Systems (PIS) inside and outside of the train
- Low floor section with wide doors, for those with restricted mobility
- Air conditioning
- Stronger cab area for reduced crash damage
The trains can work in a group of up to 3 sets, but passengers cannot move between the units.
X73813 - X73818 are former CFL (Luxembourg) units 2101 - 2106 and operate in the Alsace region.
Class X 73500
SNCF Class X 73500 are the most numerous class of A TER trains.
The units can have one of several liveries:
- TER livery - metallic grey with blue ends and TER logos. Most X 73500 carry this.
- TER Bourgogne livery - metallic grey with red and yellow ends
- TER Languedoc-Roussillon livery - metallic grey with red, yellow sun rays.
- TER Champagne-Ardennes livery - metallic grey with yellow on the central part and the logo of the region.
- X 73744 and X 73751 wear a special livery for the Andelot-en-Montagne - La Cluse railway
- X 73752 - X 73755 have been fitted with Integra-Signum (Swiss Train Protection) and are used on the Besançon - Le Locle - La Chaux-de-Fonds service.
- X 73809 with Poitou-Charentes region has been fitted with solar panels to its roof to power the electrical components of the train
The units are used on rural, unelectrified railway lines in France and are operated by all TER regions except ÃÂle-de-France, Corsica and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur.
They operate the following services:
- Bourges - Nevers
- Chartres - Courtallain â Saint-Pellerin
- Reims - Tergnier
- Saint-Etienne - Le Puy
- Saint-Marcellin - Grenoble - Chambéry (via the GrenobleâÂÂMontmélian railway)
- Grenoble - Chambéry - Bellegarde - Genève (stand in for faulty X 72500)
- Grenoble - Veynes - Gap
- Grenoble - Clelles
- Toulouse - Auch
- Toulouse - Figeac - Aurillac
- Aurillac - Brive-la-Gaillarde
- Rodez - Figeac - Brive-la-Gaillarde
- Le Havre - Rolleville
- Nantes - Vertou
- Sarreguemines - Sarre-Union
- Strasbourg - Wissembourg
- Strasbourg - Lauterbourg
- Strasbourg - Saverne
- Colmar - Munster - Metzeral
- Tours - Chinon
- Besançon - La Chaux-de-Fonds
- Dole - Morez - Saint Claude
- Montbéliard - Belfort - Lure - Vesoul
- Beauvais - Le Tréport-Mers
- Clermont-Ferrand - Gannat - Lapeyrouse - Commentary - Montluçon
- Montluçon - Saint-Amand-Montrond - Bourges
- Bressuire - Thouars - Saumur - Tours
- Mulhouse - Thann - Kruth
- Lison - Saint-Lô - Coutances
- Granville - Argentan
- Limoges - Ussel
- Marvejols - La Bastide-Saint-Laurent-les-Bains
- Monsempron-Libos - Penne-d'Agenais - Agen
- ÃÂtang-sur-Arroux - Autun - Avallon - Auxerre - Laroche-Migennes
- Corbigny - Clamecy - Auxerre - Laroche-Migennes
- Brest - Châteaulin - Quimper
- Brest - Le Relecq-Kerhuon - Landerneau
- Brest - Landerneau - Morlaix
- Brest - Landerneau - Landivisiau
- Quimper - Lorient
- Roscoff - Morlaix
- Nantes - Sainte-Pazanne - Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie
- Nantes - Sainte Pazanne - Pornic
- Nantes - Vertou
- Saint-Brieuc - Dinan
- Dol de Bretagne - Dinan
- Plouaret - Lannion
- Le Mans - Alençon
- Nevers - Cosne sur Loire
- Lyon - Tassin - Lozanne / Brignais / Sain-Bel
- Lisieux - Pont-l'Eveque - Trouville-Deauville
- Dijon - Moulins
- Alès - Bessèges
- La Rochelle - Rochefort
- Pau - Oloron
- Carcassonne - Limoux - Quillan
This list does not include all services.
Depots
Class X 73900
The SNCF Class X 73900 or A TER is an identical version of the X 73500, but can also operate into Germany. Built from 2001 to 2004 by Alsthom DDF, they are equipped with train control systems for transborder services to Germany.
They are numbered X 73901 - X73919, and allocated to Strasbourg depot.
The units are used on services that operate into Germany from France, on the following services:
- Saarbrücken - Strasbourg - Offenburg
- Metz - Saarbrücken
- Mulhouse - Müllheim - Freiburg im Breisgau
The units have two different liveries:
- TER Livery - Metallic Grey with Blue ends and TER logos. Most X 73500 carry this.
- DB Red - X73913 - X73915 wear a Red Deutsche Bahn livery with DB logos.
DBAG Class 641
The DBAG Class 641 (VT641) is a class of German railway vehicle operated by Deutsche Bahn. They are diesel railcars belonging to the Alstom Coradia A TER family. Their development started as a joint project between Deutsche Bahn and SNCF, on the one hand, and the railway vehicle manufacturers De Dietrich Ferroviaire and Linke-Hofmann-Busch on the other, both being subsidiaries of Alstom.
Forty units of this class were delivered to Deutsche Bahn, of which four have been retired due to accidents.
The railcars are fitted with centre buffer couplings. The arrangement of the two engines in front of the bogies, the bulging appearance of the coach body and the large, one-piece, swinging doors give the vehicle its characteristic appearance, which has earned it the nickname Walfisch (Whale).
They are deployed in Baden-Württemberg at Hochrhein â between Basel Badischer Bahnhof and Lauchringen â and in Thuringia at Erfurt, on lines including the Schwarzatalbahn between Rottenbach and Katzhütte, on the Pfefferminzbahn between Sömmerda and GroÃÂheringen, the Friedrichroda railway between Friedrichroda and Fröttstädt, on the line from Saalfeld to Blankenstein and the GothaâÂÂGräfenroda railway.
See also
Comparable contemporary units:
Other units of the operator:
References
External links