Between the Trabant and the Wartburg, the GDR also had a number of real showcase projects in terms of transport. One of these began in the 1960s with the unadorned “VT 18.16” express railcar of the Deutsche Reichsbahn, as the state railway was still called in the GDR.
Only eight units of the VT 18.16 were built, but they had it all: Technically, the wagons could have driven up to 160 kilometers per hour, only the conditions of the Reichsbahn prevented them from driving out at the top speed: faster than 120 km/h was allowed don’t drive a train on the Reichsbahn. This was not a problem for the VT 18.16 thanks to its innovative and streamlined shape.
After more than 50 years on the line, only three of the eight VT 18.16 are left and these are only partially preserved. One of them will soon be on the road again on a route between Berlin and the Czech Republic – at least that’s what rail enthusiasts in Halberstadt dream of.
To ensure that the plan really works, more than 30 companies are currently working on the restoration of the locomotive and its five carriages. Among other things, they take the train apart and reassemble it, but they also renew technical details that were not planned when it was built: modern toilets are just as much a part of this as a locking mechanism on the doors so that they cannot be opened while driving.
The reconstruction of the locomotive and its wagons is also made possible by the non-profit GmbH SVT Görlitz, founded in 2019: The federal government is supporting the five million euro renovation with four million and the state of Saxony is also helping with 300,000 euros. The remaining 700,000 euros have to be raised by the train fans from their own resources. In the long term, the VT 18.16 should work for its own money again. At least 50 trips per year would be necessary, as the SVT Görlitz estimates.
Those: “Tag24”
