Key takeaways
- The 4024 is a low-floor electric EMU of the Talent platform, designed for regional and suburban service.
- Best single feature: Jakobs bogies – one bogie between two car sections instead of two separate ones.
- Talent is a product name, the ÖBB class number 4024 is the binding designation.
- Clear difference from the Class 4020: low-floor instead of high-floor, rounded instead of angular.
- Deployment areas change with contract awards and timetable years – always check the current situation.
Contents
Fact file
| Vehicle type | Electric commuter EMU of low-floor design |
|---|---|
| Designation system | ÖBB Class 4024 – the leading 4 stands for electric railcar |
| Product name | Talent (manufacturer platform by Bombardier, now Alstom) |
| Car connections | Jakobs bogies – adjacent car sections share a single bogie |
| Electrification system | 15 kV / 16.7 Hz AC |
| Boarding | Low-floor, largely step-free boarding at the doors |
| Service profile | Regional and suburban services with a dense stopping pattern |
Identifying features
Is this really the class in front of you?
- Low-floor boarding with no high steps at the doors
- Jakobs bogies: a single bogie sits between two car sections instead of two separate ones
- Roundly styled front section with a large, deep-set windscreen
- Four-digit class marking beginning with 4024
- Pantograph on the roof – no diesel engine noise when pulling away
- Runs in regional and commuter service, not ahead of long-distance trains
Updated: August 2026 – A rounded front, low boarding and a strikingly small number of bogies: the Class 4024 brought low-floor thinking to Austrian commuter service. This page explains how to spot a Talent EMU in seconds, what’s behind the product name, and how to cleanly separate it from older and newer classes.
Spotted a Talent? Note the class and number.
Product names like Talent say little about the specific vehicle – only the class and running number make the sighting unambiguous.
What is the ÖBB Class 4024?
The Class 4024 is a low-floor electric commuter EMU of ÖBB-Personenverkehr AG, built on the Talent platform. It runs on 15 kV at 16.7 Hz and is designed for services with many stops, short dwell times and fast passenger turnover.
The name Talent is a manufacturer’s designation, not an official class. What’s binding is the four-digit number on the side of the vehicle. The ÖBB generally designate powered vehicles with “class” plus four digits, where the first digit indicates the vehicle type: 1 for electric locomotives, 2 for diesel locomotives, 4 for electric railcars and multiple units, 5 for diesel railcars. So the 4 at the start of 4024 already tells you that this is an electrically powered railcar – before you’ve checked a single other detail.
The one feature that settles it all: Jakobs bogies
Most EMUs can only be identified by front shape and marking. The Talent family has one technical feature you can see from a great distance and that only a few vehicles share: Jakobs bogies.
Normally, every car stands on two bogies of its own. In Jakobs design, two adjacent car sections share a single bogie, sitting exactly under the connection between them. This reduces weight and axle count and makes the ride quieter – and for spotters it means: if you count only four bogies instead of six on a three-part train, that’s a strong indicator. At a lineside photo spot like the Tauern Railway near Schwarzach-St. Veit, you can count them at your leisure.
Step 1: Count the bogies
Look at the car connections. If a single bogie sits there instead of two close together, it's Jakobs design.
Step 2: Check the boarding
Low-floor, largely step-free at the doors. High steps point to an older class.
Step 3: Determine the traction type
A pantograph on the roof and silent pulling away mean electric traction. A diesel railcar sounds and smells different.
Step 4: Read the class
The four-digit marking on the side wall confirms the identification. It's always the final word.
Its place in railway operation
A vehicle like the 4024 is optimised for acceleration and door capacity, not top speed. In the Inn Valley, Innsbruck Hauptbahnhof is one of the most productive spots for it. At Jenbach, in the same valley, the narrow-gauge Zillertal Railway branches off and provides a worthwhile contrast. This shapes where you’ll encounter it and how it can be photographed.
| Feature | Class 4024 | Class 4020 | Locomotive-hauled push-pull train |
|---|---|---|---|
| Traction | Distributed through the train | In one railcar | Separate locomotive |
| Boarding | Low-floor | High-floor with steps | Depends on the car type |
| Bogies | Partly shared (Jakobs) | Two per car | Two per car |
| Typical service | Regional and commuter | Commuter, conurbation | Regional to long-distance |
| Train formation | Fixed unit | Fixed unit | Freely composed |
The table also shows why recognising the vehicle type is the fastest route to identification. Anyone who grasps the traction logic has done half the work. The difference between the service segments and what it means for spotting planning is covered in the article Local versus long-distance services compared.
Which EMUs are running near you right now?
Live sightings from the community show which classes are currently being reported in regional service.
Where you’ll find the class
Regional EMUs follow the clock-face timetable. For choosing a spot, that means: interchange stations with several regional lines beat lonely lineside spots, because many vehicles pass through in a short time there and dwell times are longer. At Salzburg Hauptbahnhof, several such lines meet at once.
Deployment areas change with contract awards
Regional services are regularly re-tendered. That changes vehicle assignments, lines and sometimes liveries too. Treat any information about routes and diagrams as a snapshot and check the current status via real-time data and community reports.
How to sensibly combine real-time sources instead of relying on just one is explained in the guide Trainspotter live.
Product name, platform, class: keeping three levels apart
Hardly any topic leads to as many imprecise sightings of modern vehicles as mixing up brand names and the official designation. With the 4024, three levels can be distinguished, each telling you something different:
- The platform – here, Talent – describes a manufacturer’s vehicle family. It tells you something about design principles, such as the Jakobs bogies, but nothing about traction type, country or operator. Talent vehicles exist as both electric and diesel EMUs.
- The product name – for example, a service brand of the operator – describes a service offering. It can span several classes and can change without anything on the vehicle itself changing.
- The class – here, 4024 – is the only level that unambiguously names a specific vehicle. Together with the running number, it gives you the identifier that belongs in every sighting.
This distinction isn’t nitpicking. Anyone who logs a sighting with only the platform or brand name can later reconstruct neither traction type, nor operator, nor vehicle variant. With the class and running number, on the other hand, the entry stays permanently usable – even once brands and liveries have long since changed.
Photo tips for the 4024
Get the bogies in frame
A slightly angled side view shows the Jakobs arrangement – a shot that documents the design itself.
Make the most of short trains
The manageable length makes complete side shots possible that would fail with longer formations.
Freeze the motion cleanly
For regional trains passing through, a short shutter speed is the safe option; for panning shots you'll need considerably more practice and lead time.
Choose your spot responsibly
Platforms, bridges and public paths are enough. Track areas and operational railway land remain off-limits.
How to properly photograph moving trains, from shutter speed to the moment you release the shutter, is shown in the guide How to photograph a moving train. The full system behind the twelve-digit vehicle numbers is explained in the article on the ÖBB number and UIC vehicle number.
Common mix-ups
It points to the 4024 when …
- single bogies sit between the car sections
- the boarding is low-floor and largely step-free
- a pantograph sits on the roof
- the marking begins with 4024
Look more closely when …
- you only see the front and can't assess the bogies
- two units are running coupled together
- an unfamiliar livery makes the shape hard to read
It's not a 4024 when …
- every car has two bogies of its own
- the train boards high-floor with steps
- there's no pantograph and a diesel engine can be heard
The 4024 is most often confused with the older, high-floor Class 4020 and with the Cityjet EMUs of Classes 4744 and 4746. Anyone wanting to follow the Talent platform across borders will find its German representatives under Bombardier Talent 2 and 3.
Verdict
The Class 4024 is a rewarding subject for identification because it comes with a feature you can really see. Count the bogies, check the boarding height, read the class – that’s all it takes. And once you’ve understood the difference between a product name and a class designation, you’ll place other vehicle families much faster too.
Quick verdict
Low-floor, rounded, with shared bogies between the car sections: that's the 4024. Talent describes the platform, the class number describes the vehicle – and only the latter belongs in the sighting.
Collect your EMU sightings properly
Class, running number, date and location in one place – turning observations into a usable collection.
Summary
- The Class 4024 belongs to the Talent family and represents the low-floor generation in Austrian commuter service.
- Its most striking technical feature is the shared bogies between car sections.
- Boarding height, bogie arrangement and the four-digit class number are enough to identify it.
- Because regional services are regularly re-tendered, deployment areas and liveries keep changing.
Frequently asked questions
What is the ÖBB Class 4024?
A low-floor electric commuter EMU of the ÖBB based on the Talent platform. It is designed for regional and suburban traffic with a dense stopping pattern and runs on 15 kV at 16.7 Hz. The class number 4024 follows the ÖBB scheme, in which the leading 4 marks an electric railcar.
What are Jakobs bogies?
A design in which two adjacent car sections share a single bogie instead of each having their own. This saves weight and axles and makes the ride quieter. For spotters it's the most reliable identifying feature: just count the bogies between the car connections.
Is Talent the same as the 4024?
Not quite. Talent is a product name of the manufacturer and describes an entire vehicle platform used in several countries and variants – as both electric and diesel EMUs. The 4024 is the specific ÖBB class within this family and the binding designation in Austria.
How do I tell the 4024 apart from the Class 4020?
By boarding and shape. The 4020 is high-floor with steps and an angular 1970s body. The 4024 is low-floor with a rounded front and shared bogies. Both run electrically in commuter service, but they look fundamentally different.
How do I tell the 4024 apart from a Cityjet?
By the car design. The Cityjet EMUs of Classes 4744 and 4746 are vehicles from a different platform with their own front shape and no Jakobs bogies. The fastest test remains counting the bogies between the car connections; the class marking then settles it.
Are there related classes to the 4024?
Yes. The ÖBB run several closely related classes of the same vehicle family, which differ in fittings and electrical equipment. Only the four-digit marking on the vehicle tells you exactly which class you're looking at – shape details alone aren't enough.
How do I read a multiple unit's vehicle number in Austria?
Besides the four-digit class, every vehicle carries a twelve-digit European number. It begins with the vehicle type code, followed by the country code of the keeper – 81 stands for Austria. Only after that come the class, the running number and the check digit.
Where's the best place to photograph a 4024?
At regional stations with enough platform length and a clear view of the front of the train. Because the vehicles are short, a complete side view is easier to achieve than with long formations. Photograph only from the platform or other publicly accessible locations.
Log your sighting of the ÖBB Class 4024 (Talent)
Date, location and vehicle number logged in seconds – and visible to the community.
Related classes
ÖBB Class 4020
The Class 4020 is the classic three-part suburban EMU of the ÖBB. Here's how to recognise it, how to read its numbers – and how to tell it apart from newer classes.
EMUÖBB Class 4744 / 4746 (Cityjet / Desiro ML)
Cityjet is the product name, 4744 and 4746 are the classes: here's how to recognise the ÖBB's Desiro ML EMUs and tell them apart from older commuter classes.
EMUBombardier Talent 2 / 3 (Class 442 / 443)
The Talent 2 is hard to miss thanks to its bulging front end – it's earned the nickname hamster cheeks. Here's how to reliably identify it and the Talent 3.
Who is behind it
Groups, brands, manufacturers and operators – who owns whom and how to recognise them out in the field.
Österreichische Bundesbahnen (ÖBB)
ÖBB isn't a single company but a group made up of passenger transport, the Rail Cargo Group and infrastructure. If you're spotting in Austria, you can't avoid the four-digit class scheme – it tells you the traction and design before you've even properly identified the vehicle.
BrandZillertalbahn
The Zillertalbahn runs on 760 mm gauge from Jenbach to Mayrhofen. It's one of the rare cases where the line's brand and its operating company share the same name – and it ends at a station where three different gauges meet.
Where to see the ÖBB Class 4024 (Talent)
Specific viewpoints with lighting times, coordinates and an honest verdict on whether the trip is worth it.
Innsbruck Hauptbahnhof
Innsbruck is the only place in Austria where the Brenner axis, the Arlberg line and the Lower Inn Valley line meet. The result is a station where locomotives are constantly being moved, coupled and set up – against a mountain backdrop no other main station can match.
Junction stationSalzburg Hauptbahnhof
Salzburg is the station where two networks overlap: German traffic from Munich arrives from the north, the Westbahn from the east, and the Tauernbahn branches off to the south. Hardly anywhere else do German and Austrian rolling stock stand side by side so regularly.
Mountain lineTauern Railway near Schwarzach-St. Veit
At Schwarzach-St. Veit two main lines split apart at a wedge station, and just south of it the climb into the High Tauern begins. Loops, viaducts and car-carrier trains make the north ramp one of the most distinctive mountain spots in Austria.
Related guides from the blog
