Driving Van Trailer
A Driving Van Trailer (DVT) is a British purpose-built control car railway vehicle that allows the driver to operate with a locomotive in push-pull formation from the opposite end of a train. A key benefit of operating trains with DVTs is the requirement for fewer locomotives; for example, a second locomotive would otherwise have to join at the other end of the train after arrival at terminal stations to lead the train's onward journey.
| British Rail DVT | |
|---|---|
London North Eastern Railway Mk4 4 DVT at Peterborough | |
| In service | 1989 – present |
| Manufacturer | Mark 3: British Rail Engineering Limited Mark 4: Metro-Cammell |
| Family name | |
| Constructed | 1988 - 1990 |
| Number built |
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| Number in service |
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| Number preserved |
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| Number scrapped |
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| Operators | |
| Specifications | |
| Car length | 18.83 m (61 ft 9 in) |
| Width | 2.71 m (8 ft 11 in) |
| Height | 3.88 m (12 ft 9 in) |
| Maximum speed | 125 mph (201 km/h) (Mark 3) 140 mph (225 km/h) (Mark 4) |
| Weight | 43.7 t (43.0 long tons; 48.2 short tons) |
| Braking system(s) | Air |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge |
Unlike many other control cars, DVTs resemble locomotives, specifically Class 90 for the 82/1 mark 3 series and Class 91 for the 82/2 mark 4 series; thus when the train is operating in push mode, it does not appear to be travelling backwards. The vehicles do not have any passenger accommodation due to health and safety rules in place at the time of construction that prohibited passengers in the leading carriages of trains that run faster than 100 miles per hour (160 km/h). Historically, it was believed that a train would be unstable at high speeds unless pulled from the front; however, extensive testing and the experience of high speed trains with central power cars, such as the InterCity APT and the Eurostar, have since altered this view.