PBKA

PBKA is a high-speed trainset built by the French manufacturer Alstom, then known as GEC-Alsthom, for international services operated by Thalys, which later merged with Eurostar. The designation refers to the original planned routes linking Paris, Brussels, Cologne and Amsterdam. It belongs to the TGV family and was designed to operate across multiple national railway networks, each unit equipped to run under four electrification systems: 25 kV 50 Hz AC in France, 3,000 V DC in Belgium, 1,500 V DC in the Netherlands and parts of France, and 15 kV 16.7 Hz AC in Germany. Because of the cost and complexity of its quadri-current capability, seven simpler tri-current versions, the PBA, were also ordered. Each set is 200 metres long and weighs about 383 tonnes, with two power cars and eight passenger coaches offering 404 seats, and reaches up to 300 kilometres per hour with 8,800 kilowatts under 25 kV AC. A total of 17 PBKA trainsets were built between 1995 and 1998, nine funded by the National Railway Company of Belgium, six by SNCF, two by Deutsche Bahn and two by Nederlandse Spoorwegen.