Driving Van Trailer

what is it?

A Driving Van Trailer (DVT) is a British purpose-built control car railway vehicle that allows the driver to operate with a locomotive in push-pull formation from the opposite end of a train. A key benefit of operating trains with DVTs is the requirement for fewer locomotives; for example, a second locomotive would otherwise have to join at the other end of the train after arrival at terminal stations to lead the train's onward journey. The Mark 3 DVT was originally designed and produced by British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL) during the late 1980s and early 1990s.

who runs it

CRChiltern RailwaysDB Cargo UKLondon North Eastern RailwayNetwork RailTransport for Wales Rail

base stats

• speed 225 km/htop speed
• weight 43.7 tin working order
• built 84made in total

Bars compare against all trains: 600 km/h (maglev), 1,700 seats; power, weight and number built on a log scale up to 20 MW, 1,000 t and 20,000 built.

fun facts

• 🎂First built 37 years ago, in 1989.
• 🏎️Top speed is 1.7× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• ⏱️At full speed it would cover Amsterdam–Utrecht (≈ 40 km) in 11 minutes.
• 🐘Weighs about as much as 7 African elephants (~6 t each).
• 📏18.8 m long: about 4 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🧓Still in service after 37 years.

multiple unit: A self-propelled train: motors are spread under the passenger cars, so no separate locomotive.

spec sheet

built

1989

in service from

1989

status

in service

number built

84

kind

multiple unit

origin

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

builders

British Rail Engineering Limited, Metro-Cammell

operators

Chiltern Railways, DB Cargo UK, London North Eastern Railway, Network Rail, Transport for Wales Rail

top speed

225 km/h

power

—

gauge

1,435 mm standard gauge

length

18.8 m

weight

43.7 t

From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.