The Silver Line will introduce a new kind of train into DART’s rail fleet – the diesel multiple unit (DMU).
DART ordered its diesel rail vehicles from Swiss rail manufacturer Stadler. The agency chose Stadler’s FLIRT model, which stands for Fast Light Intercity and Regional Trains. The Silver Line trains will be similar to the Stadler FLIRTs that run on Trinity Metro’s TEXRail regional rail line.
Unlike Amtrak or Trinity Railway Express trains that have a diesel locomotive that pulls passenger cars, each Silver Line DMU will be self-propelled. Instead, the DMU’s diesel engine generates the electrical power for the train and all systems on it.
The diesel generator unit is installed in a separate midsection of the train, creating exceptionally quiet passenger compartments.
More importantly, these aren’t the diesel trains of old that emit large quantities of pollutants into the atmosphere. DART’s DMU vehicles will be environmentally friendly, meeting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Tier IV emissions standards – the strictest and highest standards to date.
The EPA adopted its Tier IV emissions standard to dramatically reduce harmful exhaust emissions from nonroad diesel engines, such as those used on self-propelled, passenger-carrying railcars. The advanced emission-control technologies will decrease exhaust emissions from the train’s engine by more than 90%.
These vehicles are designed to minimize noise pollution, too. Each vehicle will have wheel skirts, enclosures, baffles, seals, acoustical absorption, and body panels that will lessen noise and vibration generated by the wheels, rails, engines, motors, and all equipment elements. In fact, a Silver Line train will be even quieter than a DART Rail vehicle!
