Key takeaways
- Cityjet is an ÖBB product name, Desiro ML the manufacturer platform – the binding designations are Classes 4744 and 4746.
- Fastest feature: a three-part low-floor unit where every car section has two bogies of its own.
- Distinction from the Class 4024: the Talent trains have shared bogies between car sections, the Cityjet doesn't.
- 4744 and 4746 differ in door layout and interior – the marking on the vehicle is the only reliable answer.
- Fleets and deployment areas change with contract awards and timetable years; check the current status.
Contents
Fact file
| Vehicle type | Electric commuter EMU of low-floor design |
|---|---|
| Designation system | ÖBB Classes 4744 and 4746 – the leading 4 stands for electric railcar |
| Product name | Cityjet (ÖBB product name) based on the manufacturer platform Siemens Desiro ML |
| Train formation | Three-part fixed unit, not split during operation |
| Electrification system | 15 kV / 16.7 Hz AC |
| Boarding | Low-floor, designed for fast passenger turnover |
| Difference 4744 / 4746 | Different door layout and interior arrangement – the class marking is decisive |
Identifying features
Is this really the class in front of you?
- Three-part unit with low-floor boarding throughout
- Every car section stands on two bogies of its own – no shared Jakobs bogies
- Smoothly styled, slightly rounded front section with a large windscreen
- Four-digit class marking beginning with 4744 or 4746
- Pantograph on the roof, silent pulling away with no diesel noise
- Runs in regional and suburban service, not in long-distance service
Updated: August 2026 – A smooth front, low boarding, three car sections: running under the product name Cityjet, the ÖBB operate, among others, the Classes 4744 and 4746 based on the Siemens Desiro ML platform. This page shows you how to recognise them, why the brand name alone isn’t enough for a sighting, and how to separate them from the Talent family.
Seen a Cityjet? The class makes the difference.
A product name covers several classes – note 4744 or 4746 along with the running number, and your sighting stays meaningful.
What’s behind the Classes 4744 and 4746?
Both are three-part electric commuter EMUs of ÖBB-Personenverkehr AG in low-floor design, built on the manufacturer platform Siemens Desiro ML and marketed under the ÖBB product name Cityjet. They run on 15 kV at 16.7 Hz and are designed for dense regional and suburban traffic.
For rolling-stock knowledge, distinguishing the three levels of naming is essential:
- Cityjet is an ÖBB product name. It describes a service offering, not a design.
- Desiro ML is a manufacturer’s platform designation. It describes a vehicle family that is also used in other countries.
- 4744 and 4746 are the ÖBB classes. Only they unambiguously identify a specific vehicle.
You’ll run into this three-way split again and again in Austria – with the Talent, with the Desiro Classic, with the Railjet. Once you’ve mastered it, you’ll log sightings from the start in a way that’s still worth something later.
The ÖBB class scheme as a shortcut
The ÖBB designate powered vehicles with “class” plus a four-digit number, and the first digit encodes the vehicle type. This is the fastest way into the Austrian rolling-stock world:
| Leading digit | Vehicle type | Example from commuter service |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Electric locomotive | Hauling locomotive of a locomotive-hauled push-pull train |
| 2 | Diesel locomotive | Shunting and mainline diesel locomotive |
| 4 | Electric railcar / multiple unit | Classes 4744 and 4746 |
| 5 | Diesel railcar | Railcar on non-electrified lines |
| 6 | Driving trailer | Cab car with no traction |
| 7 | Intermediate car | Unpowered intermediate car |
Every vehicle also 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. How to decode this number block by block, and where it appears on the vehicle, is explained in the guide to the ÖBB number and UIC vehicle number.
How to identify a Cityjet in the field
Step 1: Check the bogies
If every car section stands on two bogies of its own, the Talent family with its shared bogies is ruled out.
Step 2: Look at the boarding
Low-floor and designed for fast passenger turnover. High steps point to an older class.
Step 3: Establish the traction type
A pantograph on the roof means electric operation. No engine noise when pulling away confirms it.
Step 4: Read the class marking
4744 or 4746 on the side wall settles it for good – and gives you the information that belongs in the sighting.
Practical tip
Photograph the marking separately if you're unsure. A detail shot of the number can be checked at leisure later – there's often no time for that on the platform.
Which class is running near you right now?
Live sightings from the community show which commuter vehicles were last reported.
Where you’ll find the classes
Commuter EMUs follow the clock-face timetable, not the event. How dense that timetable can actually be run depends on the tracks of ÖBB-Infrastruktur. For your search, that means: interchange stations with several regional lines and a dense service deliver the most vehicles in a short time – Wien Hauptbahnhof is the most obvious candidate for this. A single lineside spot is more photogenic but noticeably less productive. Just how photogenic is shown by the Semmering Railway near Breitenstein.
Fleets and assignments keep changing
Which class runs on which line depends on contract awards, vehicle deliveries and timetable years. Liveries and markings change too. Don't treat any route list as permanently valid – cross-check it against current sightings.
How to sensibly combine real-time sources for this is explained in the article on live sightings in real time. The fastest way to find which departures are due at a given station is via the information systems of the regional transport associations.
What sets an EMU apart from a locomotive-hauled train operationally
The Cityjet is a multiple unit: traction and passenger space form a single structural unit that is not split during operation. That sounds like a detail, but it has far-reaching consequences – and explains why modern commuter services are heading in this direction almost everywhere.
- No running around, no shunting. A multiple unit has a cab at both ends and reverses at a station without any vehicle movement at all.
- Traction distributed through the train. Because several axles are powered, a multiple unit accelerates faster than a locomotive-hauled train of the same length. With a dense stopping pattern, that’s the decisive advantage.
- Fixed capacity. The downside: a multiple unit can’t be lengthened by two cars at short notice. More capacity means a second coupled unit.
- Unified maintenance. The unit goes into the workshop as a whole – unlike a locomotive and carriages, which are scheduled separately.
For spotters, this mainly means one thing: with a multiple unit, the sighting is fully described by a single number. With a locomotive-hauled train, you need at least two pieces of information, because the locomotive and the carriage set can change independently of each other. Anyone observing both train types at the same station will notice the difference immediately in their own records.
Photo tips for modern commuter EMUs
Smooth surfaces, large windows and short dwell times – modern EMUs are more demanding to photograph than they look.
Angled rather than head-on
A three-quarter view breaks up the flat front while also showing the side wall with the markings.
Watch for reflections
Large window areas reflect platform canopies and the sky. Moving your position by just a few metres changes the result significantly.
Plan for the whole unit
Three car sections need distance. At the end of the platform you're more likely to get the complete formation into the frame.
Safety before the shot
Track areas and operational railway land are off-limits. Stay behind the safety line – every good photo can be taken from there too.
Common mix-ups
It points to a 4744 or 4746 when …
- the train consists of three car sections, each with two bogies
- the boarding is low-floor
- a pantograph sits on the roof
- the marking begins with 4744 or 4746
Look more closely when …
- you only see the front and can't assess the bogies
- the train is running in a special or advertising livery
- two units are coupled together and the number of cars looks unclear
It's not a Cityjet of these classes when …
- single shared bogies sit between the car sections
- the boarding is high-floor with steps
- a separate locomotive is hauling the train
The most common mix-up is with the Class 4024 (Talent), the second most common with the older, high-floor Class 4020. Anyone who has heard the name Desiro before should also know the diesel-powered Class 5022 (Desiro Classic): the same platform name, a completely different traction type.
Verdict
The Cityjet is a textbook example of why product names and class designations are two different things. For a first glance, the brand is enough; for a reliable sighting, it isn’t. Count the bogies, check the boarding height, read the class – then the identification is settled.
Quick verdict
Three-part, low-floor, every car section on two bogies of its own: that's the Cityjet of Classes 4744 and 4746. The brand name is the entry point, the four-digit class the answer.
Save sightings with class and number
Class, running number, date and location in one app – turning everyday observations into a real collection.
Summary
- The Classes 4744 and 4746 represent the current generation of electric commuter EMUs at the ÖBB.
- They are based on a manufacturer platform but marketed under the ÖBB product name Cityjet.
- Bogie arrangement, boarding height and the four-digit class number are enough to identify them.
- Because the Cityjet product spans several classes, every sighting should include the specific class, not just the brand name.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between Cityjet and Desiro ML?
Cityjet is an ÖBB product name for its commuter service offering, Desiro ML the platform designation of the manufacturer Siemens. Both describe the same vehicle from a different angle. Binding for rolling-stock knowledge is neither of the two names, but the ÖBB Class 4744 or 4746.
How do the Classes 4744 and 4746 differ?
The two classes differ in door layout and interior arrangement, because they're tailored to different service profiles. From the outside, the differences are subtle. The only reliable answer comes from the four-digit marking on the side of the vehicle.
How do I tell a Cityjet apart from the Class 4024?
By the bogies. On the Talent EMU of Class 4024, a single shared bogie sits between two car sections. On the Cityjet, every car section stands on two bogies of its own. You can see this even from a greater distance once you focus on the car connections.
What does the 4 at the start of the class number mean?
It encodes the vehicle type. The ÖBB designate powered vehicles with "class" plus a four-digit number: 1 for electric locomotives, 2 for diesel locomotives, 4 for electric railcars and multiple units, 5 for diesel railcars. A 4744 is therefore identified as an electric EMU without any further checking.
Are there Cityjet variants with different traction?
Yes, within the Cityjet family the ÖBB also run vehicles with battery storage for partly non-electrified lines. These run under their own class number. The product name alone therefore says nothing about the traction type – the class does.
Where are the classes deployed?
In regional and suburban service on electrified lines. Specific lines and assignments change with contract awards, timetable years and vehicle deliveries. Treat any route information as a snapshot and check the current situation via real-time data.
How do I find the full vehicle number?
It appears as a twelve-digit marking on the side wall. The first block is the vehicle type code, the second the country code of the keeper – 81 stands for Austria. After that come the class, the running number and a check digit that reveals transposed digits.
Why should I note the class and not just "Cityjet"?
Because a product name covers several classes with different traction and interiors. A sighting that only records "Cityjet" loses exactly the information that makes it usable later. Class plus running number is the unambiguous identifier.
Log your sighting of the ÖBB Class 4744 / 4746 (Cityjet / Desiro ML)
Date, location and vehicle number logged in seconds – and visible to the community.
Related classes
ÖBB Class 4024 (Talent)
The Class 4024 is the ÖBB's low-floor Talent EMU. Here's how to recognise it by its bogies and boarding – and how to tell it apart from the Cityjet and the 4020.
EMUÖBB 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.
DMUÖBB Class 5022 (Desiro Classic)
The Class 5022 is the ÖBB's two-part diesel railcar for non-electrified lines. Here's how to recognise it and tell it apart from the Class 5047.
Who is behind it
Groups, brands, manufacturers and operators – who owns whom and how to recognise them out in the field.
ÖBB-Infrastruktur
ÖBB-Infrastruktur owns the tracks, points, signals and most stations in Austria – but not a single train in the timetable. That's exactly why locomotives from companies with no connection to ÖBB roll over the Brenner, Semmering and Tauern lines.
State railwayÖsterreichische 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.
Where to see the ÖBB Class 4744 / 4746 (Cityjet / Desiro ML)
Specific viewpoints with lighting times, coordinates and an honest verdict on whether the trip is worth it.
Hegyeshalom
Hegyeshalom is the point where the Austrian and Hungarian railway systems meet. Two electrification systems, changing traction and a high freight share turn this flat border station into one of the most instructive spots in Central Europe – if you bring time with you.
Mountain lineSemmeringbahn near Breitenstein
The Semmeringbahn is Europe's first fully-fledged mountain railway and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Around Breitenstein lie its best-known viaducts and a continuous lineside hiking trail. Traffic is modest and vehicle variety low – the subjects are not.
Junction stationWien Hauptbahnhof
Wien Hauptbahnhof has only been in operation for just over a decade, and it has completely reshuffled Austrian long-distance traffic. Twelve platform tracks as a through station, trains from Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Italy – and at night a density of night trains rarely found anywhere else.
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