DBAG Class 612
| Company type | Diesel multiple unit train |
|---|---|
| Industry | Rail transport |
| Predecessor | DB Class 611 |
| Founded | 1998 |
| Headquarters | Germany |
| Products | Regional trains with tilting technology |
The DBAG Class 612 represents a two-car diesel multiple unit equipped with tilting technology, utilized by Deutsche Bahn to provide rapid regional transport on lines without electrification.
General information
Manufactured from 1998 to 2003 by Adtranz at the Hennigsdorf facility (later part of Bombardier Transportation), the Class 612—commonly referred to as the RegioSwinger—was introduced as a successor to the troublesome DB Class 611. While initially performing satisfactorily, wheelset cracks discovered between 1998 and 2004 necessitated deactivation of the tilting mechanism and imposed lower speed limits on curves, which affected timetable reliability. Starting in 2005, replacement of wheelsets allowed restoration of full tilting functionality, with a maximum tilt angle of 8°.
After the ICE TD class 605 was withdrawn due to axle failures, Class 612 trains took over the Dresden–Munich route in 2003. To avoid longer journey times that non-tilting alternatives would cause, sixteen units were repainted in ICE colors and reclassified as class 612.4 to align with service requirements.
The RegioSwinger model is also produced under license for Croatian Railways as class HŽ 7123.
Liveries
The majority of these units are painted in the standard Verkehrsrot red color scheme. In 2003, seventeen units temporarily wore the InterCity livery featuring white with a red stripe but have since been returned to the all-red design.
Since 2017, certain trains have operated under the yellow/white/black branding of bwegt, the mobility initiative of the Baden-Württemberg State Ministry for Transport, primarily based in Ulm.
Services
As of 2012, Class 612 vehicles are deployed on multiple regional routes throughout Germany:
DB Regio Bayern
- IRE 1: Nürnberg - Bayreuth - Hof - Plauen - Zwickau - Chemnitz – Dresden
- RE and RB services connecting Hof, Bayreuth, Lichtenfels, Würzburg, Nürnberg, Regensburg, Schwandorf, Weiden, Marktredwitz, Bamberg, Kronach
- RE routes linking Nürnberg with Donauwörth, Augsburg, Buchloe, Kempten, Immenstadt, Lindau/Oberstdorf (known as "Allgäu-Franken-Express")
- RE lines from Lindau and Oberstdorf via Immenstadt and Memmingen to Ulm
DB Regio Nordrhein-Westfalen
- RE 17: Hagen – Schwerte – Fröndenberg – Arnsberg – Meschede – Bestwig – Brilon-Wald – Marsberg – Warburg – Hofgeismar – Grebenstein – Kassel Hbf – Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe
DB Regio Rhein Neckar
- RE 4: Karlsruhe – Graben-Neudorf – Germersheim – Speyer – Ludwigshafen – Worms – Mainz
DB Regio Südwest
- RE connections between Frankfurt (Main), Mainz, Saarbrücken, Trier, Koblenz, Limburg (Lahn), Wetzlar, Gießen
- IRE service: Stuttgart Hbf — Tübingen Hbf — Sigmaringen/Aulendorf/Rottenburg (partial coverage)
DB Regio Südost
- RE routes from Hannover Hbf to Halle (Saale), Leipzig to Chemnitz and Altenburg to Hof/Adorf
- Services linking Dresden with Görlitz and Liberec/Tanvald
- Connections between Nürnberg and Marktredwitz, Hof, Zwickau, Chemnitz, Dresden
- Lines from Göttingen to Zwickau/Chemnitz and Erfurt to Meiningen and Altenburg
- RE 7: Würzburg – Suhl – Erfurt