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Arailbus is a lightweight passengerrailcar with an automotive engine.[1] It shares many aspects of its construction with a bus, typically having a bus (original or modified) body and four wheels (2 axles) on a fixed base instead of onbogies. Originally designed and developed during the 1930s, railbuses have evolved into larger dimensions with characteristics similar in appearance to a lightrailcar, with the termsrailcar andrailbus often used interchangeably. Railbuses designed for use specifically on little-used railway lines were commonly employed in countries such as Germany, Italy, France, the United Kingdom, and Sweden.[2]
Today, railbuses are being replaced by modern, lightDMU railcar designs.[citation needed] Modern diesel-electric railcars, which can be run coupled as multiple units, like theStadler RS1, theRegioSprinter of Siemens, or the successorSiemens Desiro, share the role and specifications with railbuses (albeit with improvements in noise,low floor design,fuel efficiency, speed, and other measures), but are usually not referred to by the term "railbus" any longer.
Locally manufacturedTecnoTren railbuses are in use around Argentina, most notably on theUniversity train of La Plata. They are mostly used in rural parts of the country where the tracks have not yet been repaired and so can't handle the weight of regular trains.[3]
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In 1937, the NSW Department of Railways added sixWaddington-built four-wheelstreamlinedFP Paybuses to serve on small branch lines out ofCowra andHarden that did not have enough passengers to justify arail motor.[4][5] Powered by aFord V8 engine, they were given the designation FP1 to FP6. When the railbus service wasn't popular, several of the buses became mobile pay cars used to pay railway employees at stations and working on tracks.
In December 1941, one of these railbuses (FP 5) was destroyed when dynamite was placed on railway tracks nearYanderra. The three-man crew of the railbus were killed in the explosion. Though £2,000 of loose cash was taken, the safe in the railcar could not be opened by the robbers. No one was prosecuted for the offence.[6]
The first railbus, FP1, has been restored where it is on display at theNSW Rail Museum inThirlmere. Another seven were built byComeng in the 1960s.[7]
InQueensland, "RailBus service" refers to road bus service running parallel to portions of some railway lines, substituting for commuter train.
In theCzech Republic andSlovakia, railbuses are used onless frequented rural lines. Most railbuses are based on a formerČSD M 152.0diesel multiple unit, also known asČD/ŽSR Class 810.
TheKaoham Shuttle utilizes DMU railbuses for its daily service betweenLillooet andD'Arcy, British Columbia.
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In Germany, theSchienenbus was developed in the 1930s to fulfill the need for an inexpensive rail vehicle. It was built to standard specifications on Germany'sReichsbahn (the predecessor toDB) to meet the demand for cost-effective services onlight railways orKleinbahnen (theWismar railbus was a pioneer in those days.) After theSecond World War, the eventually ubiquitousUerdingen railbuses were developed byDeutsche Bundesbahn in single-engined and double-engined versions. The latter were powerful enough to haulthrough coaches andfreight cars. Matching trailers and driving trailers were developed as well. These railbuses were a predecessor of the moderndiesel multiple units. In the late 1950s,Deutsche Reichsbahn in the GDR developed the single-engined classVT 2.09 with matching trailers and driving trailers, built by Waggonbau Bautzen.
A number of serious accidents in Germany in the late 1970s involving railbuses resulted in the specification and development of larger, more robustly designed dieselrailcars. Although these cars were more similar in size to the U.S. produced diesel railcars, they would not have complied with currentFRA requirements, and, like their North American cousin rail diesel cars, are largely railroad-derivative designs. TheDB Class 628 exemplifies the contemporary German diesel railcar. This type of car replaced theSchienenbus and locomotive-hauled train consists where possible on branch-line and main-line assignments during the 1980s and 1990s. Both the Uerdingen Schienenbus and the Bautzen railbuses have virtually disappeared from regular revenue service, but its diesel rail car successors are still widely used. DMUs of athird generation in succession after theSchienenbus are now being ordered by the hundreds in a variety of modular design combinations.[8] As a curious fact, there is also adouble-deckerDB Class 670.[9][10]
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The first railbuses appeared in Hungary in 1925, made byGanz Works. From 1934,MÁV started to use railbuses called Árpád, which were also manufactured by Ganz. These vehicles ran on the Budapest-Vienna line. In 1975, the last Árpád was scrapped.
In 1986, due to the lack ofČD 810 trains,Ikarus converted an Ikarus 260 bus into a railbus on behalf of MÁV. This model was called Ikarus 725.[11] Its variations 725.01, 722.01 and 723.01 were sent to Malaysia in 1988.[11]
Indian Railways operates many railbuses on its branch lines. These railbuses are being replaced byEMUs due to increase in passengers.
There is railbus on the Kalka-Shimla route (train number 72451), Mathura to Vrindavan (train number 72175) and Merta Jn to Merta City (train number 74804), Khajjidoni - Bagalkot as well, among others.
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Railbuses inIndonesia are built locally byINKA and used in several local rail services operated byPT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI).
On August 5, 2012, the first railbus service in the countryBatara Kresna railbus was launched to accommodate parts ofPrambanan Ekspres commuter rail passengers inCentral Java fromPurwosari Station inSolo toWonogiri Station inWonogiri and vice versa.[12]
In 2014, KAI launchedKertalaya railbus inSouth Sumatra betweenKertapati Station inPalembang toIndralaya Station inOgan Ilir and vice versa to ease road traffic.[13]
In 2016,Lembah Anai railbus was launched inWest Sumatra to serve passengers fromKayu Tanam Station inPadang Pariaman toMinangkabau International Airport.[14]
TheGreat Northern Railway of Ireland produced railbuses at the Railway Works inDundalk.[15]
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The president ofJNR visited West Germany in 1953 and was introduced to railbusses there. JNR subsequently drew up a plan for railbus introduction plan in JNR, and a prototype was built in 1955. However, JNR found railbuses less reliable in daily operation as compared to standard rail equipment and discontinued their use in the 1960s.Railbuses produced byFuji Heavy Industries were operational on theNanbu Jūkan Railway from 1962 until the line ceased operations in 1997, though the preserved units can still be seen atShichinohe Station.[16]
Motorization soared in Japan from the 1970s on, reducing consuming passenger numbers on local private railways. Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. in 1982 began development of an "LE-Car" that incorporates significantly the structure of the bus, deficit local lines of JNR has been adopted by many of the railway company that local governments and private companies are operated by joint investment.
TheUlaanbaatar Railbus is a railbus-based public transit system in the Mongolian capital ofUlaanbaatar.
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In the Netherlands, a Michelin car was trialled in 1932.[17]
Railbuses are used onPeruRail.
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Syrian railbuses are used inDamascus fromMa'adan toSarouja, and inSaudi Arabia fromRiyadh toMedina andMecca.
Railbuses entered service in Sri Lanka in 1995, usingTata Dimo buses, and laterLanka Ashok Leyland buses. The buses, originally built for road use, were modified to be used on rails and connected back-to-back like aDMU. Railbuses are used in various areas with little passenger demand, including fromKandy to the suburb ofPeradeniya and theKelani Valley line inColombo.[18] Services where railbuses are used are not indicated on the Sri Lankan Railways website. The route fromMaho Junction toPolghawela inNorth Western Province is also serviced by Lanka Ashok Leyland railbuses.[19]
British Rail produced a variety of railbuses as a means both of building new rolling stock cheaply, and to provide services on lightly used lines economically.
A variety of railbus known asPacers, which were constructed in the 1980s, remained in service until 2021,[20] they were phased out as a result of their failure to comply with accessibility requirements.
There are records of bus bodies being fitted to specialMack Truck chassis built with small four-wheel bogie trucks under the engine and hood, and larger flanged steel drive wheels, as early as 1903.Osgood Bradley Car Company built one of the more popular bodies during the 1920s.Fairbanks-Morse, later a locomotive builder, offered similar conversions fitted toDodge truck chassis in the mid-1930s, preferring to fit the truck chassis with van bodies and supply a small matching passenger coach trailer. Some railroads built their own bodies on truck or large, powerful luxury passenger car chassis. Most continued the pattern of a small two axle truck in front, and a single drive axle in the rear. One example from the 1930s, built on aWhite Truck chassis, is preserved at theNational Museum of Transportation inKirkwood, Missouri.
The use of railbuses in the United States allowed railroads in the 1920s to run frequent and reliable passenger service on branch lines for a fraction of the cost of running steam locomotives, allowing some lines to directly compete with road transportation. The railbuses were well-liked by passengers and able to stop and start more easily than dedicated trains.[21]
After World War II a number of more modern light train concepts appeared. Few were successful, as many railroads cooperated with highway bus services to eliminate passenger trains from their branch lines. Some, like theAmerican Car & Foundry Motorailer, blurred the line betweenrailcar and railbus. Others, such as the Mack FCD, landed firmly in the railbus camp. Ten of the Macks were purchased by theNew York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad during 1951–1952. By the time they were delivered, however, a new president was in charge, and he had little interest in serving branch lines. Only one saw regular service. All were sold to other entities such asSperry Rail Service, or to overseas railroads.
In 1967 and 1968, Red Arrow Lines tested aGM New Look bus converted to operate on rails on its interurban routes and theNorristown High Speed Line.[22]
In 1985,SEPTA tested an importedBRE-Leyland railbus on the now-closedFox Chase toNewton section of theFox Chase Line.
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