SZU_Be556_512_rr.jpg (157560 bytes)

SZU 556 512 SZU 556 512 pausing in Frauenfeld Station during test runs (22.05.2013) Digital photo: Reinhard Reiss (reissr@t-online.de) Homepage: www.reissweb.net

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Be 511 of the Sihltal Zürich Uetliberg Bahn (SZU) seen in the workshop at Zürich Giesshübel on 7 October 2013. It is the first EMU of the new Be 510 class, which can run on the Uetliberg line (electrified with 1200 V DC) as well as on the Sihltal line (15 kV AC, as on the SBB network). For this purpose, the pantographs can be shifted from the centre of the vehicle to the side, as the catenary on the Uetliberg line is installed 1300 mm off-centre (so that some tracks near the main station can be used by both lines). Unlike the old Uetliberg EMUs, whose pantographs are fixed on one side, these new EMUs can be turned around from time to time to even out the wear (a track triangle is available on the SBB network nearby). Digital photo by Christoph Schmitz (christoph.schmitz2@post.rwth-aachen.de)