DB Class 420

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Baureihe 420
Technical data
Class number	420/421
Put into service (1st year)	1971
Manufacturers	MAN, WMD, LHB, MBB, O&K, Uerdingen, WU
Wheel arrangement	Bo'Bo'+Bo'Bo'+Bo'Bo'
Gauge:	1435 mm
Length from buffer to buffer	67.4 m (23.3 m + 20.8 m + 23.3 m)
Width	3.08 m
Distance between pivots	16.5 m in cab cars, 14 m in trailer
Bogie wheel base	2.5 m
Wheel diameter	0.85 m
Floor height	ca. 1 m
Weight empty	129 t / 138 t depending on series
Max. load	15 t / 24 t (depending on series
Voltage system	15 kV, 16.7 Hz
Max. acceleration upon starting	0.9 m/s2
Braking deceleration from 120 km/h	-0,9 m/s2 regular, -0,95 m/s2 at emergency stop
Normal tractive effort	12 x 200 = 2400 kW
Maximum sustained speed at normal tractive effort	72 km/h
Maximum speed	120 km/h (reachable within 40 s)
Number of seats	194 2nd class, 17 or 33 1st class (depending on series)
Total produced	480 units

The ET 420 is a light-weight commuter electric multiple unit developed for the S-Bahn networks in Germany and was originally commissioned by the Deutsche Bundesbahn for the Munich, Stuttgart and Frankfurt networks. It was built from 1971 onwards in several series, later changing the construction from steel to aluminium, making the cars more lightweight and able to carry a greater payload.

It has largely been replaced in said cities by its successor, the Class 423, but some units have been shipped to Stockholm and some have been transferred to the Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn network. Unit 421 001 will be preserved at the DB Museum in Nuremberg. Some 420/421 units in Stuttgart are currently being rebuilt by the ET 420 Plus project, adding air conditioning and passenger information displays to the trains among other things.