The company Linke-Hofmann-Busch, which now belongs to Alstom, developed the LINT in the 1990s, which stands for “Leichter Innovativer Nahverkehrs-Triebwagen” (“Light Innovative Local Transport Railcar”). These are diesel railcars, which are available in four variants, each consisting of one to three car bodies. The variants are denoted by a number that indicates the approximate length in meters. The variants can be coupled to each other and enable the simultaneous operation of up to 17 units. Worth mentioning is the iLINT powered by hydrogen fuel cells, which will be described in a separate article.

The smallest variant is the LINT 27, which consists of only one four-axle car and operates as the class 640. Like all LINTs, it is powered by a horizontally installed six-cylinder from MTU, which here has an output of 315 kW and drives both axles of a bogie. In contrast to all other variants, however, the power is not transmitted mechanically but hydraulically. A special version is used on the Upper Ruhr Valley Railway, in which most of the seats have been exchanged for bicycle spaces and which is used in combination with larger LINTs.

The two-car LINT 41 is used as class 648 and, thanks to a central Jakobs bogie, only needs three bogies in total. It achieves the largest number of units and is also listed as class 1648 or 623 by some private operators. Optionally, this and the two larger variants can be ordered with a toilet, luggage compartment and ticket machine. The engines each have 315, 335 or 390 kW and allow a top speed of 120 or 140 km/h. The most powerful variant is used by the Bayerische Regiobahn, which is operated by Transdev GmbH.

vlexx LINT 54 and LINT 81 in December 2018 in Rüsselsheim

Matti Blume

The LINT 54 also consists of two cars, with each car having two bogies of its own. It carries the class number 622 or 1622. Normally, three of the four bogies are each driven by a 390 kW engine. Only the erixx version suffices with two engines and two powered bogies. 

The LINT 81 is offered as a three-car variant, which runs as class 620 and basically corresponds to the 54 model with an additional middle car. This has an additional drive system, which means that it has four engines and eight driven axles out of a total of twelve.

All four variants are used by DB Regio and several private operators. The area of application covers practically all of Germany, with a focus on the less electrified northern parts of the country. Common problems involve the engines, ranging from failed turbochargers to fires. There is also talk of irreparable design errors in the air conditioning systems, which prompted the erixx company to hand out woolen blankets to the passengers.