Hamburg U-Bahn Type DT3
| HHA-Baureihe DT3 | |
|---|---|
 DT3-LZB in Landungsbrücken station | |
 Interior of a refurbished unit | |
| In service | 1968- |
| Manufacturer | LHB, BBC, Kiepe |
| Constructed |
1966 (prototype) 1968-1971 |
| Entered service | 1968 |
| Refurbishment | 1994-2001 |
| Scrapped | 1999-2003 (unrefurbished units) |
| Number built | 128 units |
| Number in service | 68 units |
| Number preserved | 1 unit |
| Number scrapped | 59 units |
| Fleet numbers |
originally: 9603–9983 later: 801-926, 931-932 |
| Capacity |
92 seats in DT3, DT3E 90 seats in DT3-LZB 163 standing |
| Operator(s) | Hamburger Hochbahn AG |
| Depot(s) | Farmsen, Barmbek |
| Line(s) served |
  in peak hours |
| Specifications | |
| Train length | 39.52 m (129 ft 8 in) |
| Width | 2.48 m (8 ft 2 in) |
| Height | 3.35 m (11 ft 0 in) |
| Doors | 12 per unit, 4 per car |
| Maximum speed | 80 km/h (50 mph) |
| Weight | 47.3 t (46.6 long tons; 52.1 short tons)[1] |
| Power output | 640 kW (860 hp) |
| Acceleration | 1.2 m/s² |
| Electric system(s) | 750 V DC |
| UIC classification | Bo'Bo'Bo'Bo' |
| Braking system(s) | Dynamic main brakes, Westinghouse air brakes |
| Safety system(s) | Sifa, former LZB for some units |
| Coupling system | Scharfenberg |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) |
The Type DT3 is a three-car electric multiple unit train built for the Hamburg Hochbahn. They were first introduced in 1968 to replace the 1911-1929 built T cars and to speed up the journey times on the U1 line.
Description
With the continued expansion of the subway network in the 1960s and 70s, and the desire for greater efficiency in operating procedures caused in developing a new type of subway units based on the older DT1 and DT2 units. The DT3 resembles to the DT2 in appearance, but the big difference in them was in the engineering of the cars. Technically the DT3s were based on the DT1s which were compatible to DT3 after some customization and they can be coupled. Instead of two cars the DT3 have got a third car which is 10.72 meters long. Because of the greater overall length of a 9-car train made up of three units instead of an 8-car train made up of four units of DT1s or DT2s some platforms on the U1 line (e.g. on the Langenhorn branch) had to be extended. The DT3 trains are more powerful than its predecessors; they have been added with additional traction motors and therefore have got a much stronger acceleration. Thus, the maximum acceleration is 1.2 m/s², in contrast to the DT2 with 0.8 m/s². Moreover, the speed limit was increased to 80 km/h (50 mph) again, because the units were mainly built for the longest subway line in Hamburg, the U1 line.[2]
Refurbishment
In the mid-1970s the cars got loudspeakers inside and on the roof outside. After a first small refurbishment in the early 1980s, in the 1990s many of the units have been rebuilt and received a newly designed front and a new interior design, such as windows between the cars and between the driver's cab and passenger interior. A total of 68 units were involved into the refurbishment, the rest of the units got retired and scrapped until 2003. The rebuilt units are now called DT3-E.
In June 2015, the operator Hochbahn announced another refurbishment for the DT3-E units to extend their lifespan for ten more years.
The DT3-LZBs
For experiments with driverless trains on a larger scale, the six units 9963/64/65-9978/79/80 (now 921-926) have been converted for the driverless operation. After a long trial run on the test track parallel to the U1 line between the maintenance workshop Farmsen and Berne station, the six now called DT3-LZB units were used between Volksdorf station and Großhansdorf station on the Walddörferbahn branch for driverless operation. The driverless operation was observed by a conductor which sat in the cab, he also had to open and close the passenger doors manually. The experimental operation ended on 8 January 1985, since then the units are used together with the other DT3 under normal conditions.
The cars mainly differ by the square headlights instead of round headlights and a smaller interior in the first cab car of the units. Also they received a small refurbishment in the 1990s, they still have their original 1960s front in contrast of an DT3-E.
Today
In the early 2000s, the DT3-E and DT3-LZB were replaced by DT4s on U1 line and were moved to U2 and U3 line. After 2009, the DT4 unit also replaced the DT3s on the U2 line and the rest got moved to U3 line and since then, they are used on U1 line again in peak hours as well. The retirement will start for the rebuilt units in 2017. They will be replaced by the new DT5.[3]
Gallery
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Driver's cab of a DT3-E
-
DT3-E on U3 line
-
Side shot of a DT3-E in Hauptbahnhof Nord station
References
- ↑ Technical Data on the official Hochbahn web site
- ↑ de:HHA Typ DT3 Translation from the German Wikipedia article.
- ↑ hamburger-untergrundbahn.de German - Section "Neue Züge"
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to HHA Type DT3. |