Abstract: The body of a rail vehicle is lowered when it is stationary to facilitate ingress and egress. The body is raised in preparation for motion to provide satisfactory road clearance. In one embodiment of the invention, a lifting cylinder, in series with a supplementary spring, is extended during travel, and is contracted when the rail vehicle is stopped. In other embodiments, a hydraulic cylinder, either alongside, or coaxial with the supplementary spring, compresses the supplementary spring when the rail vehicle is stopped. In a further embodiment, the hydraulic cylinder is replaced with an electromechanical adjusting element such as a screw drive. A control system, preferably actuated by unlocking and locking of the door opening lock, actuates the lowering and raising of the body.

Abstract: Rail vehicle with at least two car bodies wherein at or near their connecting point a truck is provided which carries both car bodies, wherein furthermore an intermediate link is arranged between the car bodies, and one car body is rotatably mounted at the intermediate link about a lateral axis, and the other car body is rotatably mounted at the intermediate link about a vertical axis.

Abstract: A wheel set guidance for trucks of rail vehicles, especially commuter traffic vehicles. To have a continuously extending floor on as low a level as possible, a truck with free wheels is proposed where the free wheels are mounted in pedestal bearings that are connected with a frame structure that is connected to the truck frame in such a way as to be pivotable in a vertical direction. One of the wheel sets can be driven, with the free wheels thereof being connected in a twist-resistant manner via gear arrangement, so that from a motion standpoint the same effect is achieved as if the driven wheel set were connected with a rigid wheel set shaft, but without this shaft being in the way of the floor, so that a vehicle equipped with this truck can have a continuously extending floor on a low level.