NSB Class 73

The NSB Class 73 is a class of 22 electric multiple units built by Adtranz for the Norwegian State Railways. The four-car trains were modifications of the Class 71, which was itself based on the Swedish X2. Sixteen intercity trains form the A-series, delivered in 1999 and 2000 for the Bergen, Dovre and Sorland Lines and branded Signatur until 2003, and six regional trains form the B-series, delivered in 2002 for the Ostfold Line. Each train has a power output of 2,646 kilowatts and a maximum permitted speed of 210 kilometres per hour, and an active tilting mechanism lets it take curves 20 to 30 percent faster than conventional trains. The trains were delivered late and entered service under a dispensation from parts of the safety regulation. A broken axle derailed a train at Nelaug in June 2000 and grounded the class for a month, and the investigation found design errors and a lack of inspection and testing before the tilting mechanism was allowed again in 2004.