History
The UIC 568-cable and connector was first introduced along with the specifications for carriages built according to the UIC type Y (24.5 meters long, 8 cabins) and the UIC type X (26.4 meters long, 10 cabins), but have later on been used for variety of other passenger carriages, allowing mixing of InterCity (medium to long distances) and regional (short to medium distances) carriages.
Very early in the development of the standard, it was decided that two cords/pins should be reserved for remote-operation of the locomotive (when using control cars).
Along with the UIC 568-cable and connectors, carriages used for international traffic are required to be equipped with electric heating. The power for this, as well as for lighting, air-conditioning, electric outlets for passengers, etc., is carried by a separate cable. This cable carries one-phase 1500 volts AC/50 Hz (with the tracks as the ground connection), supplied from the locomotive, or in some cases a carriage with a generator. In order to use this power, each carriage is equipped with a transformer, which reduces the voltage and supplies a number of electric groups (typically one for heating/air-conditioning, one for lighting, one for outlets to passengers and so on).
Read more about this topic: UIC 568
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