Description
Stadler FLIRT (Fast Light Intercity and Regional Train; German: Flinker Leichter Intercity- und Regional-Triebzug ) is a passenger multiple unit trainset made by Stadler Rail of Switzerland. The baseline design of FLIRT is an electric multiple unit articulated trainset that can come in units of two to twelve cars with two to six motorized axles. The maximum speed is 200 km/h (125 mph). Standard floor height is 57 cm (22+7⁄16 in), but 78 cm (30+11⁄16 in) high floors are also available for platform heights of 76 cm (29+15⁄16 in).
The FLIRT train was originally developed for the Swiss Federal Railways and was first delivered in 2004. The trains quickly became a success and were ordered by operators in Algeria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Serbia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States, and, most recently (2018), Canada. As of October 2021, more than 2500 units have been sold.
Aside from being electric (EMU), the FLIRT is available in a diesel-electric version (DEMU), and recently also as an electro-diesel multiple unit first ordered by the Aosta Valley region in Italy (BTR.813), and then by Greater Anglia as the British Rail Class 755, Norske Tog, and Wales & Borders ("tri- mode" version: diesel/overhead electric/battery).
