When you say the word S-Train in Copenhagen most people think about our old red ones. They were so nice, and to a lot of writers they were as attractive a target as any subway. Few S-train systems make me feel like this. The old Stockholm commuter is a masterpiece. I would claim the same about the old S-Trains in Berlin and Hamburg. B 420 is the last old european S-train in this category to make it on my list. Maybe you look at a photo of the train and think that it just looks average. But once you seen them in real life you’ll know that this is one of the original kingz in the S-train business.
Stuttgart
Stuttgart
The Baureihe 420 was developed for the S-Bahn networks in Germany and was originally commissioned by DB for the Munich, Stuttgart and Frankfurt networks. When Black September took 11 Israeli athletes and coaches as hostages demanding the release of 234 people jailed in Israel along with Andreas Baader and Ulrike Meinhof, the Munich S-Bahn system with it’s beautiful and brand new B 420 trains was just 4 months old.
Munich
Munich
The same trains still had a majestic shine when the Munich part in the Hard 2 Burn video impressed us about 30 years later. Munich was the first city to let go of them though. Some got shipped away to the Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn system. Some got shipped to Stockholm! To me it was a thrill to see this lovely old lady in new livery and DAMN; B 420 did look very good in Stockholm colors.
Stockholm
Stockholm
Even the arlanda express, Stockholms airport express, got a bite of the cake.
Arlanda Express
The 420 will still be in use for some years in Frankfurt and Stuttgart. On May 5, 2009 Bombardier und Alstom announced that they received an order for 83 430 train sets to replace the Class 420 from 2012.
