These diesel railcars were developed by Nippon Sharyō directly for the North American market, with final assembly partly taking place in the USA. Three different variants of cars were offered, all with a 760 hp Cummins engine with hydraulic transmission and a cab. With the so-called C-car, the end with the cab is also flat, so that it can be used as a middle car in a three-car train. The relatively high weight is due to the adaptation to US crash standards. A total of 36 cars were built, half of which went to two customers each. One of these is the Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) in California, while the Union Pearson Express connects the airport in Toronto, Canada. 