SBB IC2000 driving trailer

Updated: August 2026 – A cab at the front, a locomotive at the back, double-deck coaches in between: the IC2000 driving trailer is one of the most instructive vehicles in Swiss passenger service. It looks like the front of a train, but is technically a coach – and the Swiss designation tells you so directly, once you know what to look for.

What is the IC2000 driving trailer?

The IC2000 driving trailer is a double-deck passenger coach with a cab, but no traction of its own. It belongs to the IC2000 coach family built by SBB for long-distance services and forms the end of a push-pull train opposite the locomotive.

That makes it a coach rather than a powered vehicle, even though it stands at the front of the train and looks like one there. The tractive effort comes solely from the locomotive at the other end – in Switzerland typically an electric locomotive such as the SBB Re 460 (Lok 2000). Which machine is actually coupled on depends on the diagram and changes over time.

Why a driving trailer has no traction

The answer is purely operational. A locomotive-hauled train has to be turned round at every terminus: in the past that meant uncoupling the locomotive, running it round via a siding to the other end of the train, and coupling it up again. That costs time, staff and free tracks – exactly the three things in short supply at a busy terminus station.

The push-pull train solves the problem: at the far end sits a cab, from which the driver operates the locomotive via a control line. The locomotive pushes the train while being controlled from the front. Traction of its own in the driving trailer would be superfluous for this – it would only add weight, cost and maintenance effort.

For you as an observer, one important rule follows from this: a cab at the front of a train doesn’t automatically mean a powered vehicle.

The Swiss designation: the missing lower-case letter

Here the Swiss system shows a strength other designation systems don’t have. It codes traction in a lower-case letter – and if there’s no traction, the letter is simply missing.

Designation	Lower-case letter	Meaning
RABe	e	electric traction – a multiple unit
Bm	m	internal combustion engine – a diesel vehicle
Ee	e	electric, here a shunting vehicle
Bt / ABt	none	no traction – a driving trailer

The capital letters are always read the same way: A for first class, B for second class, D for a luggage compartment. A driving trailer with second class thus carries a B, one with both classes an AB – plus the marker that identifies it as a driving trailer. What’s missing is precisely the one character that would never be missing on a powered vehicle.

This logic works across the entire Swiss fleet. On multiple units like the SBB RABe 502 (FV-Dosto), the e is there – the traction sits in the train itself, with no locomotive involved.

Driving trailer or normal coach?

Push-pull operation in everyday service

Where is it worth watching? The answer follows directly from the operating concept.

Location	What you’ll see	Why it’s interesting
Terminus stations and end points	Train reverses direction without changing locomotives	The push-pull principle in its purest form
Major long-distance hubs	Driving trailer and locomotive in one train	Both ends of the train easy to document from the platform
Through stations on long-distance corridors	Train passing through, pushed or pulled	A good opportunity for side-on views
Pure multiple-unit routes	No push-pull trains	The concept doesn’t apply there at all
Operational railway land and stabling groups	–	No accessible viewing target

Alongside the vehicle number, the train number helps to assign a sighting to a specific working – where to find it and how to read it is explained in the guide finding the train number. Why the distinction between local and long-distance services matters to spotters at all is covered in the article local versus long-distance services compared.

Photographing it: the driving trailer as the front of the train

A driving trailer at the front is a rewarding photo subject because it acts as the “face” of the train – and tricky at the same time, because it’s easily mistaken for a powered vehicle. Three points make the picture more informative:

• A three-quarter view rather than head-on. Only then can you see that double-deck coaches follow behind the cab front.
• Include the other end of the train in your plan. A second shot of the locomotive at the other end proves the push-pull arrangement.
• Choose flat light. Large, smooth double-deck surfaces look flat in midday light; in the morning and late afternoon, edges stand out.

The basic technique – viewpoint, exposure, focal plane – is covered in the guide good photos of trains. And whatever the subject, the same rule applies: platforms and public paths are accessible, track areas, operational railway land and stabling groups are not.

Common mix-ups

The most common mistake is confusing it with a double-deck multiple unit. Vehicles like the SBB RABe 511 (Regio Dosto) look similar from the side, but carry an e in their designation, have a pantograph and need no locomotive. The second candidate is an ordinary double-deck coach without a cab – hard to tell apart from the side, obvious from the front.

Conclusion

The IC2000 driving trailer is the best example of why it’s worth learning the Swiss designation system. It doesn’t just describe vehicles – it describes them through what’s missing, too. A cab with no traction letter is unambiguously a driving trailer – in other words, a coach that runs at the front but doesn’t pull. Once you understand that, you’ll never confuse a push-pull train with a multiple unit again.