Key takeaways
- The 628 is a two-part diesel multiple unit: a power car of the 628 series and a driving trailer of the 928 series form a fixed unit together.
- The 629 is the twin-engined variant: almost identical outside, but both car sections are powered.
- Quickest route to identification: two separate car bodies with four bogies and roof fittings instead of a pantograph.
- Typical territory is non-electrified branch and regional lines; on main lines the design only turns up passing through.
- Fleet and operators change constantly with contract awards, vehicle re-numbering and withdrawals – always check the current situation.
Contents
Fact file
| Vehicle type | Two-part diesel multiple unit for regional services |
|---|---|
| UIC type code | 95 (diesel railcar / diesel multiple unit) |
| Build | Power car 628 plus driving trailer 928, close-coupled |
| Variant 629 | Both car sections powered, for lines with heavy gradients |
| Maximum speed | 120 km/h |
| Main design | 628.4 – the numerically largest series |
| Typical use | Branch lines and regional services without overhead wire |
Identifying features
Is this really the class in front of you?
- Two close-coupled car bodies with two bogies each – no Jacobs bogie in the middle
- Boxy, tall front with large, near-vertical windscreens and a gangway-door look
- Radiator and exhaust fittings on the roof instead of a pantograph
- High-floor entrance with steps, doors at each car end
- Vehicle number begins with 628 or 629, the unpowered car with 928
Updated: August 2026 – Two boxy car bodies, a diesel soundtrack, no overhead line above the track: chances are high that you’re looking at a Class 628. This page shows you how to identify the design and its twin-engined sister, the 629, beyond doubt, where you’ll realistically find them, and what matters when photographing them.
Spotted a 628? Note the number right away.
With a design being phased out, every date counts – in Traintrack the sighting is logged in seconds.
What is Class 628 / 629?
Class 628 is a two-part diesel multiple unit for regional services. A unit consists of a power car of the 628 series and an unpowered driving trailer of the 928 series, permanently close-coupled together. The vehicles are rated for 120 km/h and were procured for lines where electrification never paid off – such as those the Bodensee-Oberschwaben-Bahn (BOB) runs between Friedrichshafen and Aulendorf.
Class 629 is the logical further development for demanding terrain: here both car sections are powered. The visual difference is minimal, but the operational one is significant – double the engine power means more reserves on gradient-heavy lines. Both designs belong to the generation that preceded today’s picture of the Coradia LINT 41, Talent and Regio-Shuttle.
How to identify the design in a few seconds
You don’t need detailed knowledge. Three observations are enough, and they work even from the opposite platform.
Count the car bodies
Two separate bodies with a short gangway between them. Each body stands on two bogies of its own – four in total. Vehicles with a Jacobs bogie in the middle are ruled out by this.
Look at the roof
Radiator packs and exhaust instead of a pantograph. That's the most reliable feature setting it apart from visually related electric railcars, and it separates the 95 group from the 94 group of UIC numbers.
Check the entrance height
Steps and a visibly high-set floor. Modern local-service railcars, by contrast, are largely low-floor – a clear difference even from 50 metres away.
If any doubt remains, the vehicle number settles it. On the power car it begins with 628 or 629, on the unpowered car with 928. How to read such numbers quickly out on the job is explained in the guide to identifying rolling stock classes; the full twelve-digit system, including the check digit, is set out in the article on the UIC number on the vehicle.
Practical tip for the first glance
Count the car bodies first, then the bogies. You can see both even in poor light. You can then check the front, doors and number at your leisure.
What the numbers tell you about the train
The German classification system is remarkably informative for multi-car railcars. The power car carries the actual class number, the unpowered car the same number with a leading 9. So 628 becomes 928. Anyone who notes down both numbers has documented the unit unambiguously.
At the international level, the UIC type code comes before that: the first two digits of the twelve-digit vehicle number are 95 for diesel railcars. Electric multiple units carry 94. That’s a useful second check if you’re unsure about the roof fittings.
| Observation | What it means | How reliable |
|---|---|---|
| Two car bodies, four bogies | Build of the 628/629 family | high |
| Roof radiator and exhaust | Diesel traction, no use of overhead line | very high |
| Number 928 on the second car | Driving trailer, so design 628 | very high |
| Both car sections with a 629 number | Twin-engined variant | very high |
| High-floor entrance with steps | Vehicle generation before low-floor construction | high |
Where you’ll find the class in service
Diesel railcars follow a simple logic: they run where there’s no overhead wire. In the south-west, the design belonged to the everyday work of DB ZugBus Regionalverkehr Alb-Bodensee (RAB) for years. From that, the search strategy follows almost by itself.
| Location | Chance of a sighting | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Non-electrified branch lines | high | Classic operating territory for the design |
| Regional hubs with diesel lines | high | Several diesel routes converge here |
| Terminus stations with turnaround time | medium to high | Long standing times, good view of both car sections |
| Electrified main lines | low | At most as a transfer working or diversion |
| Large long-distance hubs | low | Only as a through-running regional service |
Operators and service networks change
Which company currently operates a network, and with which vehicles, shifts with every contract award and timetable change. Treat older network or route lists as only a rough guide, and check the current situation through real-time information and community sightings.
See where a 628 has just been reported
Current sightings from other spotters show you which vehicles are out there – before you set off.
Spotting and photography: what matters
The 628 is a rewarding subject because it’s usually slow-moving and stands for a long time at small stations. At the same time it’s flat, brightly liveried, and can look dull from a platform perspective fairly quickly. These four points make the difference.
Get both car sections in the frame
The two-part build is the defining feature. A three-quarter view at around 30 to 45 degrees to the vehicle's axis shows the front, the side wall and the second car body all in one shot.
Keep the number legible
Frame the shot so the markings on the side wall aren't cropped off. Without the number a sighting is worth noticeably less.
Branch line rather than big city
Small stations with a clear view and few overhead masts give a calmer image than the platform of a major junction station.
Work from the platform
Stay behind the platform edge and keep a safe distance. Track areas, operational land and sidings are off limits – without exception, no matter how quiet a line looks.
For choosing an actual location, it’s worth looking at the overview of the best stations for trainspotting in Germany. How to log sightings so they stay usable later is shown in the guide on keeping a sightings log.
Common mix-ups
It points to the 628 / 629 if …
- two separate car bodies with four bogies are visible
- a radiator and exhaust sit on the roof, no pantograph
- the entrances have steps
- the number begins with 628, 629 or 928
Look more closely if …
- you only see one car section and the coupling point is hidden
- the vehicle is running in an unfamiliar livery
- you have to decide between 628 and 629 – only the number helps then
- a double-heading of two units looks like a four-part train
It's not a 628 if …
- a pantograph sits on the roof – then it's an electric railcar
- the car sections share a common Jacobs bogie
- the entrance is low-floor and step-free
- only a single car body is present
The most common misidentification happens not with exotic vehicles, but within the diesel family itself: the Siemens Desiro Classic of Class 642 is also two-part, but shares a Jacobs bogie and is low-floor. The older Class 614, in turn, looks related at first glance but is arranged differently.
Conclusion
Class 628 is one of those vehicles you learn properly once and then recognise everywhere: two bodies, four bogies, a radiator instead of a pantograph. The 629 is its technical twin with a second engine. What makes the design interesting is precisely that it’s gradually disappearing from service – all the more reason to document every sighting with a number and date.
Verdict in brief
Two close-coupled car bodies, a roof radiator instead of a pantograph, steps at the entrance: that's the 628. If both car sections have engines, you're looking at a 629 – the vehicle number gives you the confirmation.
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Summary
- Class 628 shaped the picture of German diesel-powered local services for decades and stands for the generation before the modern low-floor railcars.
- Anyone who looks at the number of cars, the bogies and the roof has identified the design in a few seconds.
- The 629 differs mainly technically: two powered car sections instead of a power car with a driving trailer.
- Because these vehicles are gradually being replaced by newer railcars, it's especially worth logging sightings with number and date.
Frequently asked questions
How do I identify Class 628 with confidence?
By three features: it consists of two close-coupled car bodies, each with its own bogies, has a boxy front with large vertical windows, and carries radiator and exhaust fittings on the roof instead of a pantograph. The vehicle number begins with 628, the second car with 928.
What's the difference between Class 628 and Class 629?
On the 628, only one car section is powered, the second is a driving trailer of the 928 series. On the 629, both car sections have engines, which makes it suitable for lines with heavy gradients. The two look very similar from the outside – the vehicle number is the reliable difference.
How fast does Class 628 run?
Its maximum speed is 120 km/h. On typical branch lines that's rarely reached, because the line speed limit, level crossings and closely spaced stops set the pace.
Why does the second car carry a 928 number?
Because the German vehicle classification system marks unpowered cars of a multiple unit with a leading 9. Power car 628 thus gets its matching driving trailer 928. You'll find this pattern with many multi-car railcars, and it helps with quick identification.
What does the 95 in the twelve-digit vehicle number mean?
The first two digits of the UIC number are the type code. 95 stands for diesel railcars and diesel multiple units. Electric multiple units, by contrast, carry 94. Reading just these two digits already tells you whether a vehicle generates its own energy or draws it from the overhead line.
Where can you still find Class 628 today?
On non-electrified regional and branch lines. Which networks are currently run with this design changes with every service contract award and timetable change, though. So don't rely on older lists, but on current sightings and up-to-date timetable information.
Is the 628 a low-floor vehicle?
No. The design dates from before low-floor construction became widespread and has entrances with steps. That's exactly what makes it easy to recognise even from a distance: the floor sits visibly higher than on a LINT, Talent or Regio-Shuttle.
How do I document a 628 sighting properly?
Note down the full vehicle number of both car sections, the date, the location and the livery. Especially with a design being phased out, the date is the most valuable piece of information, because the fleet in service changes quickly. A photo of the side wall with a legible number rounds off the entry nicely.
Log your sighting of the Class 628 / 629
Date, location and vehicle number logged in seconds – and visible to the community.
Related classes
DB Class 614
The Class 614 was the three-car local-service railcar of the 1970s: two motor cars, one intermediate car and a look you recognise instantly.
DMUClass 642 (Siemens Desiro Classic)
The Class 642 is the Siemens Desiro Classic: two-car, low-floor, with a Jacobs bogie in the middle. Here's how to recognise it reliably and tell it apart cleanly.
DMUClass 648 (Alstom Coradia LINT 41)
Class 648 is the two-part Coradia LINT 41 – one of Germany's most common diesel railcars. Here's how to identify it reliably and tell it apart from relatives.
DMUClass 668.2
The Class 668.2 is a battery-electric development of the Coradia LINT 41. It looks like a diesel railcar but carries a pantograph – that's how you recognise it.
DMUClass 668.4
The Class 668.4 is the battery variant of the Siemens Mireo. It runs electrically, charges under overhead line and bridges sections with no contact wire from storage.
DMUClass 670
The Class 670 is a single-unit double-deck diesel railcar from the 1990s – a tiny series that never found a successor in Germany.
Who is behind it
Groups, brands, manufacturers and operators – who owns whom and how to recognise them out in the field.
Biberbahn
The Biberbahn is a service with a calendar: it runs on Sundays and public holidays between spring and autumn on a line that carried no passenger trains for decades. The name is marketing – the actual operator is a company with a completely different name.
BrandBodensee-Oberschwaben-Bahn (BOB)
The Bodensee-Oberschwaben-Bahn belongs to districts, towns and a municipality – not a group. Its blue trains run between Friedrichshafen and Aulendorf, and its abbreviation BOB is shared, of all things, with a Bavarian railway operating somewhere else entirely.
BrandDB ZugBus Regionalverkehr Alb-Bodensee (RAB)
The name contains the word ZugBus (train-bus), but today it mostly runs buses. The RAB's rail services passed to DB Regio Baden-Württemberg. Anyone reading old vehicle lists will find a company that no longer appears in train operations in this form.
BrandDie Regionenbahn
Most pages in this section explain that another company hides behind a brand. Here it's the other way round: a company that runs trains without carrying its own brand on them. Die Regionenbahn works on the branch-line network in the south-west – on behalf of others and mostly with vehicles that aren't its own.
Related guides from the blog
