Key takeaways
- 428 = four-part FLIRT: within this family, the class number encodes the number of car sections.
- Order of identification: count the car sections first, then check the gangways, then read the number.
- Four-digit classes such as 1428 or 3428 denote other FLIRT generations and other vehicle keepers.
- Operator and network are changeable – livery is not an identification feature.
- UIC type code 94 at the start of the twelve-digit number marks the unit as an electric multiple unit.
Contents
Fact file
| Vehicle type | Electric articulated multiple unit for regional services |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Stadler (FLIRT vehicle family) |
| Car sections | four, fully walk-through |
| Design | Articulated unit with Jakobs bogies between the car sections |
| Electrification system | 15 kV / 16.7 Hz AC via pantograph |
| UIC type code | 94 – electric multiple unit |
| Typical use | Regional express and regional services under overhead line |
Identifying features
Is this really the class in front of you?
- Four car sections between the two cabs
- Only one bogie at each gangway – Jakobs design
- Fully walk-through interior with no partitions between the sections
- Smooth, rounded front with a large single-piece windscreen
- One pantograph on the roof, no side current-collector shoes
- Vehicle number starts with 428 – not with a four-digit number
Updated: August 2026 – Four car sections, a walk-through interior and only a single bogie at every gangway: Class 428 is the four-part version of the Stadler FLIRT and one of the vehicles you see almost daily in German regional service. Here you’ll learn how to identify it with confidence, why the number of car sections is the key, and what four-digit class numbers from the same family mean.
Everyday vehicle, still worth logging
It's precisely the common classes that reveal interesting patterns over time. Record your sightings with Traintrack.
What is Class 428?
Class 428 is a four-part electric articulated multiple unit from Stadler’s FLIRT family. It runs under 15 kV and 16.7 Hz AC and is designed for regional and regional express services. The interior is fully walk-through across the entire unit, with the car sections resting on shared Jakobs bogies at the gangways.
The key system idea: within this family, the class number mainly distinguishes length. Three car sections give the Class 427, four the 428, five the Class 429. Later generations and vehicles outside the classic DB numbering range carry four-digit numbers – for example the Class 3428 (FLIRT XL).
Which FLIRT is actually standing there?
The finder below narrows it down using three observations. It doesn’t replace the vehicle number, but it saves you the detour through guesswork.
Quick check: FLIRT in regional service
Class 428
Four car sections, Jakobs bogies, a pantograph: that fits the four-part FLIRT. Check the vehicle number on the side wall to confirm.
More likely Class 427
Three car sections point to the shorter version of the same family. The rest of the features stay identical.
More likely Class 429
Five car sections give the longest version. Take care not to accidentally count two coupled units.
Not a FLIRT
If the pantograph is missing or every car has two bogies of its own, the vehicle belongs to a different family. Go through the features again from the start.
How to work through such features systematically, rather than improvising with every train, is shown in the guide to identifying classes.
Where it fits into rail operations
Four-part regional multiple units are capacity vehicles: long enough for busy routes, short enough to be coupled flexibly in regular-interval service. For observation, that produces a clear pattern. In North Rhine-Westphalia, for example, eurobahn runs vehicles of this design.
| Viewing location | Likelihood | What you’ll see there |
|---|---|---|
| Electrified regional hub | high | Several lines, splitting, coupling operations at the platform |
| End of platform at a through station | high | Clear view of the full length of a unit |
| Line without overhead line | none | Electric multiple units don’t run there |
| Pure S-Bahn line with third rail | none | Vehicles with side current-collector shoes run there instead |
| Depot or stabling sidings | – | Operational railway land, so not a permitted viewing spot |
Network and operator change
Which units run on which line depends on service contracts, vehicle pools and timetable years. This page deliberately gives no line lists – check the current picture via real-time information and recent sightings.
See what's running right now
Current community sightings tell you more about today's deployment than any static list.
Spotting and photo practice
Count first, then shoot
A photo where the unit is cropped off is rarely useful for identification. Work out beforehand where the unit ends and plan the frame accordingly.
Two shots per sighting
One for the overall view, one tight on the vehicle number. The second isn't spectacular, but it makes the sighting verifiable.
Capture the coupling point
With multiple traction, the coupling point is the most interesting shot – and also the proof that you saw two units rather than one very long one.
Use the shot's metadata
Date and time are already stored in the image file. Anyone who evaluates them systematically can reconstruct sightings cleanly later on.
How to turn image data into reliable sighting information is described in the article on using EXIF data for spotting; keeping a permanent record is covered in the guide to the sighting logbook.
The vehicle number as the final word
All the features so far are indicators. The proof is on the side wall. Every rail vehicle in Europe carries a twelve-digit number, and for traction vehicles it starts with a two-digit type code. For electric multiple units and railcars that’s 94 – it comes right at the start and places the vehicle before you’ve even got to the class.
Country code, class and running number follow, along with a check digit at the end. In practical terms, that means:
- The first two digits tell you the vehicle type. A diesel multiple unit carries a different number here than an electric one.
- The class part gives you the 428 – or a different number if you miscounted.
- The running number identifies the specific unit and is what turns a mere observation into a sighting.
- Intermediate cars of the same unit carry their own number. Don’t be surprised if two cars of the same train show different classes – that’s normal, not a contradiction.
A common beginner’s mistake is confusing the train number with the vehicle number. The train number describes the journey, the vehicle number the vehicle. For complete documentation you need both, but only the vehicle number stays unambiguous over the years.
Safety at the platform
Regional multiple units run at close intervals and stop where many people are about. Three points aren’t negotiable:
- Stay behind the safety line, even for the supposedly better angle. Arriving trains create a slipstream and give you no room to step back.
- Never enter the track area. Tracks, operational railway land and stabling sidings are operational property, not a photo spot.
- Don’t flash towards the cab. Dazzling the driver is a direct hazard to the operation.
The background on distances and behaviour at the track is covered in the article on the rules for the safe distance; local rules are always binding in individual cases.
Common mix-ups
It points to the 428 if …
- a unit has four car sections
- there's only one bogie at each gangway
- a pantograph sits on the roof
- the number is three-digit and starts with 428
Look more closely if …
- two units are coupled – count only up to the next pair of cabs
- the number is four-digit, such as 1428 or 3428
- the front shape looks familiar but the proportions seem unusual
It isn't a 428 if …
- you count three or five car sections
- every car has two bogies of its own
- you see double-deck cars
- the vehicle has side current-collector shoes instead of a pantograph
Conclusion
Class 428 is a textbook example of how modern multiple units are defined less by technical detail than by structure: number of car sections, gangway design, method of current collection. Anyone who checks these three points in a fixed order gets it right almost every time – and needs the vehicle number only to confirm it. Everything else, from livery to operator, is changeable and no use as a feature.
In short
Four car sections, Jakobs bogies, one pantograph: that's Class 428. The neighbouring classes 427 and 429 differ only in length, and four-digit numbers denote other generations.
Sightings become a collection
Log number, place and date in Traintrack – and keep track of every unit you're still missing.
Summary
- Class 428 is the four-part version of the Stadler FLIRT in German regional service under overhead line.
- It differs from the 427 and 429 essentially only in the number of car sections.
- Four-digit class numbers from the same family denote later generations and other vehicle keepers.
- Because service contracts are retendered, the vehicle number remains the only permanently reliable piece of information for a sighting.
Frequently asked questions
How do I recognise a Class 428?
Count the car sections between the cabs – for the 428 there are four. Also check the gangways: if there's only one bogie at each, it's an articulated unit in FLIRT design. Together the two features narrow it down very reliably; the vehicle number on the side wall confirms it for good.
What's the difference between Class 427, 428 and 429?
Only length. 427 has three, 428 four and 429 five car sections. Front shape, door placement and articulated design are the same, which is why the number of car sections is the deciding feature. From a distance, comparing it to the platform length also helps.
What does a four-digit class number like 1428 or 3428 mean?
Four-digit class numbers are assigned in Germany when vehicles aren't held in the classic DB numbering range or represent a later design generation. The vehicle type can come from the same family, but keeper and specification differ. The full number on the vehicle clarifies this unambiguously.
How many doors does a Class 428 have per side?
On the FLIRT family, doors sit in the low-floor areas of the individual car sections. The exact number depends on the specification and the customer, which is why it isn't a reliable identification feature. Rely instead on the number of car sections and the design of the gangways.
Does Class 428 run coupled in multiple?
Regional multiple units are often coupled during peak hours to increase capacity. For identification that means: count the car sections per unit up to the next pair of cabs, not across the whole train. Otherwise you'll quickly end up with eight sections and a result that doesn't exist.
Which operators run Class 428?
That's not fixed permanently. Regional services are put out to tender, and vehicles move to another operator or into a vehicle pool with each award. Network, livery and markings therefore change faster than the vehicle itself – check the current picture for your region.
Can Class 428 run on lines without overhead line?
No. It's a purely electric multiple unit that draws its power via a roof-mounted pantograph. For non-electrified sections there are other vehicles – diesel multiple units or battery vehicles that may look similar on the outside but have an entirely different traction system.
How do I tell which individual unit I'm looking at?
By the full twelve-digit vehicle number printed on the side wall of each car section. For electric multiple units it starts with 94, followed by country code, class and running number. In practice, the number of one driving car plus date and place is enough for a sighting.
Log your sighting of the Class 428 (Stadler FLIRT)
Date, location and vehicle number logged in seconds – and visible to the community.
Related classes
Class 427 (Stadler FLIRT)
Class 427 is the three-part Stadler FLIRT in German regional service. Car count, Jakobs bogies and the vehicle number get you to the right answer in seconds.
EMUClass 429 (Stadler FLIRT)
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