Notes

The Regiobahn is a regional line in the Ruhr area that is integrated in the S-Bahn commuter network, but unlike all other lines uses short diesel trains, specifically Bombardier Talent ones, because parts of its line are not electrified.

Unlike normal two-part Bombardier Talents, the class 643.2, these trains have outside cameras and only a top speed of 100 kph (normal is 120). Most importantly, they have an entry height of 960 mm above rails. Normally, the Talent is only available with 550 or 760 mm, which are the default heights for normal rails, but older S-Bahn (commuter) systems such as the one here use 960 instead. The reason for this is that they were built before modern low-floor vehicles became available, but it was still desired to have a same-level entry for fast passenger flow.

Now, instead of developing a Talent with a higher interior floor, which would have sold only twelve times in total (namely to this company), Bombardier apparently just increased it’s ground clearance by twenty centimeters. If you look for it, you’ll see that this train does look kind of odd with the large gap under the body (to those who want to see a Talent in the UK desperately, notice that while this solves the platform height problem, the train is now too high at the edges, and still too wide).

Another interesting detail is the side advertisement. In almost all of Germany, regional and commuter traffic is organized by local traffic authorities, here the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr, which manages the franchises and also sets ticket prices, where one ticket is valid on all trains and busses in the area it’s valid for (unless it’s for one ride only, obviously). The advertisements on this train tell people to buy tickets that are valid for a longer period of time specifically from Regiobahn instead of someone else, which shows that the income from the ticket is not divided equally (or by measurement of passengers) amongst the rail and bus operators, but at least partly kept by the actual ticket vendor.