The first Stadler trains of the model FLIRT have passed TEXRail’s dynamic train testing at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in Texas on Wednesday, Oct. 10th 2018, bringing TEXRail one step closer to putting the trains into service.
TEXRail conducted Wednesday’s testing with the support of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Tests consisted of a train clearance test and test activities to verify any impacts to the ASR 9 radar tower due to train operations. The test section covered the alignment from the Dallas Fort Worth Junction to the DFW Airport Terminal B station. Next steps in the testing process will include a system wide test to certify the commuter rail system before testing is completed in December.
Trinity Metro ordered eight diesel-electric low-floor multiple unit FLIRT from Stadler in June 2015 for the TEXRail project. The trains will operate on the commuter route in the corridor between downtown Fort Worth and the northern railway terminus of the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in Texas. The design of the vehicles allows operation of a mixed fleet including freight trains with the vehicles meeting the new AVT requirements of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and Buy America.
Last week, the FAA and TEXRail tested the trains for clearance to wayside equipment and the infrastructure as well as for train vibration and reflectivity impact to the DFW ASR9 tower radar operation. Train clearance tests such as this one are a function of the project safety and security certification process and will support the system certification. Tests are scheduled based on the track allocation program managed by the commuter rail service operator.
“Essentially, this particular test is part of the overall certification by the FRA that we need to place TEXRail in service,” said TEXRail spokesperson Linda Thornton.
International rail vehicle construction company, Stadler, is headquartered in Bussnang in Eastern Switzerland. Founded in 1942, it has a workforce of over 7,600 based in various production, service and engineering locations across Switzerland, Germany, Spain, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Belarus and the United States. Service locations are also being operated in countries including Algeria, Denmark, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the UK. Stadler provides a comprehensive range of products in the heavy and urban transport segments: high-speed trains, intercity trains, regional and commuter heavy rail trains, underground trains, tram trains and trams. Stadler also manufactures main-line locomotives, shunting locomotives and passenger carriages, including the most powerful diesel-electric locomotive in Europe. It is the world’s leading manufacturer in the rack-and-pinion rail vehicle industry.
The FLIRT (Fast Light Intercity- and Regional Train) vehicle has already sold more than 1,600 units in a total of 18 countries. The KISS, an acronym of the German for Comfortable Innovative Speedy Suburban Train, is also very popular, with nearly 300 units sold in 11 countries. The most powerful diesel-electric locomotive in Europe is the EURO4000, which has sold 140 units in 7 countries. The Stadler Service division maintains vehicle fleets and comprises more than 680 vehicles, covering a combined annual distance of 120 million kilometers in 16 different countries.
