Velomobiles and transportation in trains
”But this is no bicycle” – this is a typical reaction of conductors when they see a velomobile in front of the Transportation of velomobiles with the Deutsche Bahn Pictures of velomobile transport in trains Some waggons of the "Deutsche Bahn", the train company in Germany, will be presented here. The list below Luggage van / Baggage car This was the beginning: a bicycle waggon out of an old luggage van. There is a lot of space in it, and the clear distance is Interregio-waggon 8 places für bicycles, clear distance of the door is 64 cm, single door, straight entrance, no further compartment door.
IR driving cab vehicle 10 places for bicycles
Intercity-driving cab vehicle, summer version with bicycle compartment. 4 places for bicycles at the control room, at summer time sometimes 12 further places instead of seating benches. Ca. 88 cm wide clearance, no additional internal door, no keine Innentür, no things built in. Sometimes used in IR´s.
Intercity-driving cab vehicle, winter version
IC-saloon coach with 16 places for bicycles
Diesel-motor coach 628
mostly used as a RB ("Regionalbahn") or SE ("Stadt-Express"). Multi use compartment at one or both ends of the train. Wide entrance door with 80 cm clearance, but reduced by the door by 73 cm effectively.
Half-baggage waggon in a Intercity
Doubledeck waggon
They are used in S-Bahn, RB and RE. A lot of space for bicycles besides the entrance. Low entrance level and wide doors. 118 cm door clearance, sometimes 113 cm. Two metal tube bows at both sides limit the clearance to 93 cm. In most cases no bicycle parking arrangement. Large muli-use compartment with folding seat. At some constructions, in the midth of the compartment, bars hinder a little bit. Suburban waggon
Suburban waggons with multi-use compartment (often RB or RE). Narrow entrance clearance of 64 cm, reduced by the door opening mechanism to approx. 60 cm. These suburban waggons sometimes have a multi-use compartment in the driving unit of a rail motor set. A double door with metal tube in the center limits the clearance to 61 cm. Some constructions with a single door have a clearance of 64 cm. Often, there is a large multi-use compartment, that has a length of 10 seats and a dimension of 520x215 cm. ICE with tilting technique (ICE-T)
Multi use compartment at one end of the trains. No details available. Bicycle transport at the "Deutsche Bahn": The "Deutsche Bahn" informs on the homepage ( 23.4.2001) http://www.bahn.de/home/db_reise_touristik/angebote/db_rt_rad_mitnahme.shtml): For the following types of bicycles, different rules are valid:
Because these rules can solve problems in trains, it may be a good idea to have a copy of the original site of the "Deutsche Bahn AG" as a print. The "Deutsche Bahn AG" gives some further information: Bicycle transportation in far distance coaches: http://www.bahn.de/home/db_reise_touristik/angebote/db_rt_rad_fahrradzuege.shtml The "Interregio" coach: http://www.bahn.de/home/db_reise_touristik/zuege/db_rt_interregio.shtml Bicycle transportation in suburban coaches: http://www.bahn.de/home/db_regio/region/db_regio_bahn_und_bike_startseite.shtml On the Site of the "Deutsche Bahn", you can get further information about:
Further information (external sources): "Bahn und bike": a information site of the German magazin "Radwelt" (in German language): http://www.radwelt-online.de/jetzt/aktuell/aktu89_new.htm Tandem pages: very good site, some information on this page is from there: thanks to Dirk Bettge! http://tandem-fahren.de/sudibe
Pictures from velomobile transport in trains Aeolos in a "Interregio" of the "Deutsche Bahn". The velomobile is hanging on a hook like a white whale...
In this EC-waggon in the winter version, there was only little traffic. Therefore, Aeolos is on the ground floor.
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