TecnoTren is an Argentine manufacturer of railbuses. Its products are designed to be very low-cost vehicles intended for use in rural parts of the country where railway privatisation and the subsequent deterioration of the network left small rural villages isolated.
TecnoTren railbus seen in Tecnopolis
Original first prototype (named "microtren") at Bavio station of Roca Railway.
TecnoTren unit on the University train of La Plata
A railbus is a lightweight passenger railcar with an automotive engine. They shares many aspects of its construction with a bus, typically having a bus body and four wheels on a fixed base instead of on bogies. Originally designed and developed during the 1930s, railbuses have evolved into larger dimensions with characteristics similar in appearance to a light railcar, with the terms railcar and railbus often used interchangeably. Railbuses designed for use specifically on little-used railway lines were commonly employed in countries such as Germany, Italy, France, the United Kingdom, and Sweden.
Hilding Carlsson diesel in Sweden
Calabro Lucane Railway (FCL) railbus Emmina M1c.82 in Italy
Modern-day railbus, built originally by Ferrostaal, entirely rebuilt and redesigned in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia
ČD railbus at Prague, 2011