As this equipment is FRA-compliant, there is no reason to ship it on a flatcar.

Several years ago, a Colorado Railcar DMU demonstrator made a national tour, which included a stop here in North Carolina. Where the DMU was deadheaded in freight service, the drive shaft between the diesel motor and the truck was removed to prevent potential damage. Apparently, this is a relatively simple thing to do. Where I saw the DMU, it was on static display and did not make any demonstration runs.

Someone else asked if DMUs were common. Other than the old RDC cars, DMUs have not been in use in the U.S. for many years -- in part because there was no manufacturer offering them.

DMU equipment is fairly common in Europe on secondary lines. (Main lines are mostly electrified, and most commuter service there is provided with EMU equipment.) The versions of DMUs in Europe -- available from many manufacturers -- do not meet U.S. FRA standards, though some of these manufacturers have offered to build heavier versions that would meet U.S. standards.

The Sprinter equipment on the California Oceanside-Escandido line is European DMU equipment. As it does not meet FRA standards, it has to operate time-separated from freight trains on the line. In other words, freight trains can only operate after the transit operation has shut down for the day. The Austin, Tex., MetroRail equipment (depicted in the current issue of Trains is also (non-FRA-compliant) European DMU equipment, from a different manufacturer.

Because of its non-FRA compliance, such European DMU equipment is often described as "diesel-powered light rail."

There are a number of lines/operations in the U.S. where (FRA-compliant) DMU equipment would make more sense than locomotive-hauled equipment, both economically and operationally.

One problem so far has been that the Colorado Railcar equipment does not yet have much of a track record. It's encouraging that Colorado Railcar has invested much money in not only producing a prototype but also having it give extensive demonstration runs. Assuming that Colorado Railcar equipment does well at the existing customers, you're likely to see many more potential customers (including Amtrak) looking seriously at this equipment.

And, if Colorado Railcar equipment does well, you may also see other manufacturers, such as Siemens looking at producing an FRA-compliant North American demonstrator unit.

Certainly the outlook for the American passenger railcar market is much brighter than it was a few years ago, due to a variety of economic and environmental factors.

The Colorado Railcar DMU equipment does incorporate some European technology, including a Voith transmission.

-- Ernest