TexRail's Stadler FLIRT DMU trains at DFW [4K]

TexRail trains seen around the DFW airport area powered by Swiss manufacturer Stadler Rail's FLIRT / FLIRT3 (Fast Light Innovative Regional Train) model DMU trains. These are now a common and welcome sight around the DFW airport area on their runs between DFW Airport and Downtown Fort Worth courtesy Trinity Metro.
#TexRail
#StadlerRail
#StadlerFLIRT
#DMUTrains
Filmed during the Summer of 2019.
© Josh Rawlin, 2020

[@WildWildWeasel]

Always had a thing for the “DEMU” FLIRTs, that electric sound with the twin turbo diesel V8 grumble is something special and rare.

[@RossiZockt]

It looks so cool with the alternating flashing of the headlights. For me as a German where the Eurobahn and the Westfalenbahn run with Flirt 03. It just looks amazing.

[@j03l911]

We've gut so many operators which use FLIRT 3 than just ERB and WFB...

[@RossiZockt]

@@j03l911 yeah that's right-

[@sandraschwarz666]

We can dream from Stadler flirt in East Germany

[@asm1030]

Didn't manage to take this train during my time in Germany but those double decker Bombardiers were nice. Wish my place had some of these trains

[@polishstick0609]

​@@sandraschwarz666 We got those great FLIRTS in mazovia

[@jeremywendelin]

Those are some great shots!!!

[@JoshRawlin]

Thank you. Working on a new one :-)

[@gabrielstravels]

Stadler FLIRT! Yay! Fantastic train that is! This is how all US commuter rail trains need to be if they want to attract more people out of the cars and to attract more people to public transport. I always love to understand why can't North America have such an efficient public transport compared to us in Europe? (I'm European btw, half British and half Italian currently living the UK).

[@OntarioTrafficMan]

For a long time, small efficient European trains were not permitted on mainline railways in the U.S. because of the way the safety regulations were written. Finally the U.S. and Canada are updating their safety regulations to permit efficient (and safe!) European DMUs and EMUs to operate in North America.

[@Neuzahnstein]

@@OntarioTrafficMan can you please describe it further? Difference and so on.

[@OntarioTrafficMan]

@@Neuzahnstein Absolutely! In 2016, the American Federal Railway Administration (FRA) produced an important paper which described the advantages and disadvantages of the traditional American crash-safety regulations compared to the corresponding European ones, and proposed changes to American regulations which would make them much more similar to European regulations: railroads.dot.gov/elibrary/passenger-equipment-safety-standards-standards-alternative-compliance-and-high-speed#p1_z5_gD It's pretty long so I'll just summarize the key points: The traditional American way of evaluating crashworthiness was based on "buff strength", and had remained largely unchanged since 1945, ignoring decades of research and development in vehicle safety. Train cars needed to be able to withstand 800000 pounds of force on the coupers without deforming (See page 39). This was quite easy to test, and easy to design for, but it meant that trains were necessarily bulky. One popular description of this type of train design is "a bank vault on wheels". Standard European designs generally couldn't be used in the U.S. since they wouldn't have been designed to meet this particular requirement. In contrast, European regulations are based more on more directly-relevant metrics such as g-forces during a crash, protection of the seating areas etc. So instead of just focusing on the general strength of the vehicle as a whole, European design has made extensive use of Crash Energy Management (a.k.a. crumple zones) to help dissipate the energy of a crash by deforming areas of the car where there aren't people. The result is that European trains tend to be lighter than American trains, while still being just as safe (or indeed safer). In November 2018, the FRA requirements were officially amended with the regulation called "Passenger Equipment Safety Standards; Standards for Alternative Compliance and High-Speed Trainsets": www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/11/21/2018-25020/passenger-equipment-safety-standards-standards-for-alternative-compliance-and-high-speed-trainsets The new regulations generally accept European standards for crash safety for "Tier I" trains (trains travelling less than 125 mph / 200 km/h), with only some relatively minor modifications.

[@Neuzahnstein]

@@OntarioTrafficMan thanks and interesting

[@JoshRawlin]

Very interesting. Thank you!

[@TrainTrackTrav]

We'll be getting units like these soon here in Southern California running between Redlands and San Bernardino here in the next couple years. It'll be neat to see these FLIRT sets in person.

[@JoshRawlin]

Nice. Always enjoyed seeing the trains in SoCal at Cajon and Tehachapi. We'll be getting more of these here in the Dallas area in bright yellow when Dart starts picking them up to run alongside Texrail on the new cotton belt line. Thanks for stopping by.

[@felixbeutin8105]

And electric kiss trains on the peninsula corridor

[@TuukkaVarjoranta]

Very interesting video of the new TEXRail DMU's!

[@JoshRawlin]

Thanks. Glad you enjoyed it! More to come.

[@xxxbbb1973]

stunning

[@rubenstocco500]

Trenes muy modernos y bien cuidados ( muy buen video ) los felicito 🤗🤗🤗😄😄😄👍👍

[@JoshRawlin]

Gracias!

[@CasperTrains]

Amazing video 👍

[@JoshRawlin]

Thank you 👍

[@gabrielstravels]

Amazing video btw 😀

[@JoshRawlin]

Thank you! Glad you liked it and thanks for commenting!

[@smalltowntraveller]

Cool catches....

[@JoshRawlin]

Thanks!

[@uncinarynin]

What do Estonia, Slovenia, Wales and Texas have in common? These units: Stadler FLIRT DEMU. Quite funny to watch LED effects when filming, and they also have an interesting route going up and down. By the way it is interesting to see the amount of cameras: Each end has three looking forward (one on each side and one in the middle) and two looking back (one on each side to make sure nobody is trying to board when you depart).

[@ethanbowering9944]

Now add Canada to the list with Ottawa's Line 2

[@redcrazymonkey]

Beautiful trains! Nicely done. Is the system popular?

[@JoshRawlin]

They are slowly gaining attention. COVID has not helped.

[@code3texas]

See you on the rails one day

[@locomotiveproductions]

Us cities can't invest in Highspeed rail but if they invested into heavy urban transportation like this, they can eventually build a hsr

[@owenchuarbx]

Imagine of the line itself will be doubled

[@HotShotDesigns3D]

What type of horns do these trains have?

[@rolexmike]

High tech from switzerland

[@pomademahal]

How is it powered? Sorry, noob question, I didn't see any power lines running above the train

[@tankman_tv9332]

Diesel. There is an onboard diesel engine in the 3rd car (one with no windows).

[@RegiRaidillonVT]

I'm European, so may I ask why I'm hearing ATC? I mean I know you're at an airport but I thought you'd just do one at a time. Interesting video tho

[@JoshRawlin]

Just to confuse people :-D ... just kidding. I was doing photography of both planes and trains and was tracking something in the sky! Thanks for stopping by and for the note!

[@trazon8741]

This train is a dmu? I thought it was battery powered with how quiet it was.

[@JoshRawlin]

It's actually a DEMU. Officially a Diesel Electric Low-floor Multiple Unit... Might explain a few things :-) www.stadlerrail.com/media/pdf/flirt_texrail_en.pdf Thanks for stopping by!

[@JoeyLovesTrains]

Are they Electric or do they have diesel generators on top?

[@marka5478]

The short center unit of each teain set contains the diesel engines and alterators to provide the power for the electric motors.

[@UltimateAlgorithm]

@@marka5478 are the electric motors distributed or only in center unit?

[@StefanWithTrains3222]

@@UltimateAlgorithm only in the center

[@markusstudeli2997]

@@StefanWithTrains3222 Not quite: the generators are only in the center "power pack" unit, the electrical motors however are located in a few of the bogies (mainly in the front and in the back of the train).

[@JaapGinder]

Stadler puts de Flits train worldwide it seems. Also her in the Netherlands, we have the electric version and the diesels, mostly on local lines or the non-intercity lines. See e.g. this vid (i did not make it): kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z3azaKd4fJh9gac

[@StefanWithTrains3222]

Alle treinen in nederland delen bijna alle sporen met elkaar

[@anisa1022]

Ini bahan bakarnya diesel or full electric?

[@JoshRawlin]

Diesel DMU,

[@xxxbbb1973]

cakep ya bro.

[@UltimateAlgorithm]

DEMU Stadler ini, yg lagi kerjasama bareng INKA bikin pabrik di Banyuwangi.

[@richardbartucz1314]

Már ideje volt hogy a sok amtrak mellé legyen modernebb is

[@czonczike630]

Meglepett, hogy amerikában Flirt-et látok.

[@drvman]

Whats that thing in the middle. Theres like a box ish thing in the middle What is that

[@JoshRawlin]

I believe that's the generator car.

[@drvman]

@@JoshRawlin Some type of engine ?

[@NorthernMetro]

That’s the power pack

[@drvman]

@@NorthernMetro Thats an interesting placement for a engine

[@NorthernMetro]

@@drvman It enables the train to be converted to an electric train if needed. Remove the diesel power pack, replace it with an electric power pack.

[@president2887]

Is that narrow gauge ??

[@StefanWithTrains3222]

No standard gauge 1435mm

[@president2887]

@@StefanWithTrains3222 OK. Thank you ..

[@EpicThe112]

For the Northeastern United States SEPTA MTA State of New York MARC NJ Transit Conndot and MBTA require two doors one door for high-level platform but the lower door for low-level platforms. NJ Transit electric territory Morris & Essex lines East Orange South Orange and orange stations those have low-level platforms. North Jersey coast line low level platforms electric territories the amboy's

[@thealexpshow782]

Those sound electric.

[@hcs4life21]

It appears they’re diesel trains. No idea why TexRail would go non-electric.

[@bradleym3240]

That's because they are diesel electric. The engine is electric and diesel is used to produce electricity.

[@hcs4life21]

@@bradleym3240 Seems kinda pointless to have diesel and electric on the same DMU. I wonder how much extra it would have cost to electrify the tracks and build catenary.

[@StefanWithTrains3222]

@@hcs4life21 only about 1.75 million per mile so not that mich in comparison with other projects

[@markusstudeli2997]

@@hcs4life21 It's a well proven system: the electrical motors are located in some of the bogies. Instead of a mechanical transmission, these motors are powered by centrally located diesel generators in the "power pack" in the middle of the train. With some diesel electrical models, like the ones produced for Wales, the breaking energy can be recuperated and stored in battery packs. Diesel Electrical units tend to accelerate faster and still be more economical than traditional diesel locomotives.

[@justinjrailfanproductions1164]

They must replace the bell

[@JoshRawlin]

... and the horn!

[@justinjrailfanproductions1164]

@@JoshRawlin Nah, not the horn, I like the horn

[@GamingRailfanner]

Yes the horn

[@olafgogmo5426]

Why are you Americans so obsessed with horns and bells? Just be happy you got some nice European quality trains.

[@DDELE7]

Lovely trains. They should use a modified version of this for the MTA’s Interborough Express project in NYC. Maybe it can run on Hydrogen on the Bay Ridge Branch and electric elsewhere.

[@alexverdigris9939]

Trains seem rather empty :|

[@KingAsa5]

This is March of last year, right when the pandemic started

[@felixbeutin8105]

catenaries texas they're a good thing you know XD

[@StefanWithTrains3222]

Yeah

[@mloebab]

There is a chile flag in there...Why.

[@HTV-2_Hypersonic_Glide_Vehicle]

That's not the Chile flag, though it looks similar to it.

[@gdwiggy]

That’s the Texas flag! They’re very similar.

[@thebean6731]

Too slow

[@JoshRawlin]

Not a fast train, but it is nice!

[@jb5music]

More fossil fuel tech stagnation stoogery...

[@kkobayashi1]

It's a modern electric train with an optional diesel generator car.