Railway Equipment

Stadler Delivers Final FLIRT Train to Helsinki

On August 18, 2011, Stadler announced the delivery of its last 81 shunts to Finnish Helsinki operator Junakalusto Oy.

The four-car trains, specially designed to cope with Finland’s extreme climatic conditions, will connect the city centre of Helsinki with the airport.

Stadler FLIRT

The FLIRTs were the first broad-gauge vehicles manufactured by Stadler as well as the first vehicles especially able to fulfil the requirements of severe winters. Since then, similar trains have also been delivered to Belarus and Estonia. All Stadler trains intended for Moscow and Norway are essentially based on the developments in the resistance to severe winters of the first Helsinki FLIRT train.

Better Insulation and Heat Recovery

Because of the wide 1,524-millimetre gauge used in Finland, the greater clearance profile and, most importantly, the climatic conditions in Finland that can reach 40 degrees Celsius, the FLIRTs used in Helsinki are slightly different from the normal-gauge FLIRT. In order to improve tolerance to harsh winter conditions, insulation is increased by 50% to 100% and the windows are triple-glazed.

The heat recovery system has been added to the pilot air conditioning systems used in many FLIRTs. The warm air extracted from the cabin is used to preheat the fresh air inhaled, saving a lot of energy. At the same time, the heater has been installed in the door area, so that when the passengers on and off as much as possible to keep the internal temperature unchanged.

Article from:

https://railway-news.com/