Constructed 1996–2004 Train length 36.8 m (120 ft 9 in) | Number built 500 quarter trains | |
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Operator(s) Deutsche Bahn AGBerlin S-Bahn Width 3,000 mm (9 ft 10 in) (outer frame)3,140 mm (10 ft 4 in) (with safety sills) | ||
The DBAG Class 481/482 is an electric multiple unit train for the Berlin S-Bahn. The class 481 was designed to replace the aging rail cars after the German reunification in 1990. The first mock-up models were presented in 1993 with the first rollout on 22 January 1996.
History
In 1990 most of the rail cars were still composed of mostly Class 475, 476 and 477 vehicles from before World War II. The average age was about 40 years at the time. Both the West Berlin and East Berlin S-Bahn operators had already started to replace their aging fleet with Class 480 (West) and Class 485 (East). The German reunification prompted a unification of the operators leading also to a requirement of a common operation scheme for the whole of Berlin. When the last of the 500 rail cars had been delivered, the theoretical 55 years average age shrunk to merely 6 years in 2004.
After some teething problems the reliability settled on a high level. A number of components had to be replaced with some of higher quality (especially on the doors) in the meantime. About a decade after delivery, the train type experienced a notable technical accident on 1 May 2009 when a wheel broke at station Kaulsdorf. An investigation showed that the wheels were built too lightly and the brakes were not properly dimensioned according to state of the art - this led to a plan to replace all wheel sets on all trains of this type. The operator reconstructed a repair shop to do it but the replacement works were running too slow so that inspection intervals were run over regularly (where intervals had been shortened due to the wheel problem). When the acceptable margin was overrun as well, the federal regulator dropped the allowance for operation for 100 rail cars which led to serious transport problems in Berlin rapid transit in 2010. Further problems came up at the height of winter 2011 leading again into transport problems requiring further reconstruction of motors and sanding equipment.
Due to the problems, the old S-Bahn train types had to be reconditioned for further operation. Since 2011 the Berlin S-Bahn network switches to a modern train safety system, the ZBS train control being based on Eurobalises. Only this Class 481 will be equipped with the corresponding train-borne safety equipment with the installations to be complete for all 500 quarter trains until the end of 2016. Originally it was planned that this train type will be the only train type running on the Berlin S-Bahn network after 2017. Due to a number of setbacks in the ordering process for the new DBAG Class 483/484 and a growing population in the area (rising by about half a million residents) the old train types (Class 480 and Class 485) will continue to run until 2023.