User:Trinaliv/CP class 0350

The Série 0350 are a type of single carriage diesel railcar used by Comboios de Portugal (CP); they were created by refurbishing the Série 0300 railcars, manufactured by Allan.

History
In 1997, the portuguese railway infrastructure was handed over from CP to Rede Ferroviária Nacional. At the same time CP started to modernise their rolling stock.

Série 0300 was refurbished in Guifões by Empresa de Manutenção de Equipamento Ferroviário. CP hoped to extend the train's service life by 15 years.

The new class, 0350, was unveiled in December 1999, and was described by the newspaper Público as modern and spacious. They had digital passenger infomation, automatic doors and air conditioning.

The Série 0300 railcars were rather old, having entered service between 1954 and 1955, nevertheless, the structure was not changed during the refurbishment. This decision was controversial, due to the train's lack of crashworthiness, as the structure had not been updated to include passive safety systems which could minimise the impact of a head-on collision, like the one that happened in April 2002. The main reason for the refurbishment of these units was economical; it was estimated that buying new trains would have cost four times more.

On the 4 of April 2002, two 0350 units crashed in Casal do Espírito Santo, on the Lousã branch line, resulting in the death of 5 people and injuring 11.

Description
The Série 0350 operated on the Beira Baixa railway, and the Figueira da Foz, Lousã, and Cáceres branch lines.

The series comprises 21 diesel railcars, numbered 0351 to 0371.

Specifications

 * Operation
 * Entered service: 2000
 * Number buit: 21
 * General data
 * Gauge: 1668 mm
 * Propulsion: Diesel-eléctrica
 * Transmission
 * Type: Electric
 * Operating characteristics
 * Top speed: 100 km/h
 * Output: 269 kW
 * Capacity
 * First class: 24
 * Second class: 50