The Class 471 electric motor unit, commonly known as ''CityElefant'', is a double deck

electric multiple unit An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a numbe ...

operating on 3 kV DC overhead wires produced by Škoda Vagonka, a subsidiary of

Škoda Transportation Škoda Transportation a.s. is a Czech engineering company that continues the legacy of Škoda Works' rolling stock manufacturing that started at the end of 19th century in Plzeň. Following the first world war, the Works commenced locomotive pr ...

, since 1997 and operated by the

České dráhy České dráhy (English: ''Czech Railways''), often shortened to ČD, is the major railway operator in the Czech Republic providing regional and long-distance services. Overview The company was established in 1993, after the dissolution of Cze ...

rail transit operator on its suburban services around

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

and

Ostrava Ostrava (; pl, Ostrawa; german: Ostrau ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic, and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 280,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four rive ...

, Czech Republic. A single unit consists of a Class 471

power car In rail transport, the expression power car may refer to either of two distinct types of rail vehicle: *a vehicle that propels, and commonly also controls, a passenger train, multiple unit or tram, often as the lead vehicle; *a vehicle equipped ...

with first class seating, a single Class 071

passenger car A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as ...

and a Class 971

cab car A control car, cab car (North America), control trailer, or driving trailer (UK and Ireland) is a non-powered rail vehicle from which a train can be operated. As dedicated vehicles or regular passenger cars, they have one or two driver compartm ...

. They are replacement for defunct ČD Class 451, and successor to scrapped ČD Class 470. Czech railways ordered in total 83 units. The last unit for the Czech Railways was delivered in March 2013. In addition, variants differing in power system and other parameters, have been ordered by

Lithuanian Railways Lithuanian Railways ( lt, Lietuvos geležinkeliai), abbreviated LTG, is the national state-owned railway company of Lithuania. It operates most of the railway network in the country. During 2020, Lithuanian Railways transported 3.34 m ...

Železničná spoločnosť Slovensko Železničná spoločnosť Slovensko, a.s. (ZSSK) ('' en, The Railway Company of Slovakia'') is a Slovak state-owned passenger train company based in Bratislava. In 2002 a company Železničná spoločnosť was established as a successor of pe ...

and

Ukrainian Railways Ukrainian Railways ( uk, Укрзалізниця, Ukrzaliznytsia, abbreviated as UZ) is a state-owned joint-stock company of rail transport in Ukraine, a monopoly that controls the vast majority of the railroad transportation in the country. I ...

Derived units

Czech Railways

In 2019, ČD concluded a contract push-pull sets similar to those for

Deutsche Bahn The (; abbreviated as DB or DB AG) is the national railway company of Germany. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG). The Federal Republic of Germany is its single shareholder. describes itself as the se ...

. The trainsets will used from

Frenštát pod Radhoštěm Frenštát pod Radhoštěm (; german: Frankstadt (unter dem Radhoscht)) is a town in Nový Jičín District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 11,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is p ...

, in operation with ČD Class 750.7. In March 2021, they were tested in

Cerhenice Cerhenice is a market town in Kolín District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,900 inhabitants. Administrative parts The village of Cerhýnky is an administrative part of Cerhenice. Etymology The original na ...

with ČD Class 242 and ČD Class 750.7. They were originally launched in 2020, but will not be operated until 2021.

Lithuanian Railways

The

ordered 13

broad gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , commonly known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union (CIS ...

units of class EJ 575. The first train was delivered in 2008 and the last unit was delivered in 2017. They are operated on the route

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...

–

Kaunas Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai ...

since December 2008 ,

–

Trakai Trakai (; see names section for alternative and historic names) is a historic town and lake resort in Lithuania. It lies west of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. Because of its proximity to Vilnius, Trakai is a popular tourist destination. T ...

and

–

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

(

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

). Units consist of two and three cars. They have very similar interior like Czech class 471. The maximum speed has increased up to .

ZSSK

The ZSSK operates 19 units of class 671 and 10 push-pull units of class 951. All of them are three-car units and the maximum speed has increased to .

Ukrainian Railways

In January 2011, the

ordered two broad gauge units of class EJ 675. Both of them are six-car units. The maximum speed has increased to . The units were to be the first trains of a series of 50 to 60 units, however no further purchases were made. They currently operate on the route

Kharkiv Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

–

Ternopil Ternópil ( uk, Тернопіль, Ternopil' ; pl, Tarnopol; yi, טאַרנאָפּל, Tarnopl, or ; he, טארנופול (טַרְנוֹפּוֹל), Tarnopol; german: Tarnopol) is a city in the west of Ukraine. Administratively, Ternopi ...

Deutsche Bahn

DB Regio DB Regio AG is a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn which operates regional and commuter train services in Germany. DB Regio AG, headquartered in Frankfurt am Main. It is a 100% subsidiary of the Deutsche Bahn Group and there part of the DB Regio bus ...

ordered 6 locomotive-hauled push-pull trainsets. Trainsets will be used on

Nuremberg–Munich high-speed railway The Nuremberg–Munich high-speed railway line is a high-speed railway running between the two largest cities in Bavaria, Germany: Nuremberg and Munich. The northern section, between Nuremberg and Ingolstadt, is a track built between 1998 and ...

. Push pull units will be hauled by locomotives

Škoda 109E The Škoda 109E locomotive (also marketed as Emil Zátopek locomotive) was originally conceived in 2004 and designed for operation in Austria, Germany, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia as well as the Czech Republic. The 109E Škoda has a top spe ...

. Units are successor of Czech class 471. These new units are designed for speed up to . The maximum speed in operation will be limited to as required by

in the tender. Trainsets were originally expected to be delivered in 2016, but they are entered in service in the 4th quarter of 2020.

Accidents

* On June 28, 2010 a CityElefant derailed in

Ústí nad Labem Ústí nad Labem (, , ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 92,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of its eponymous region and district. It is a major industrial centre and, besides being an active river port, is an important railway ju ...

. 1 driver died and 11 people were injured. * On September 6, 2019 a commuter train collided with a

semi-trailer truck A semi-trailer truck, also known as a semitruck, (or semi, eighteen-wheeler, big rig, tractor-trailer or, by synecdoche, a semitrailer) is the combination of a tractor unit and one or more semi-trailers to carry freight. A semi-trailer ...

at a

level crossing A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, Trail, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line crossing over or under using an Overpass#Railway, overpass ...

. 8 people were injured.

Gallery

File:ČD Class 471.webm, thumbtime=10 File:471_main.jpg, The whole unit in

Beroun Beroun (; german: Beraun) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 20,000 inhabitants. It lies at the confluence of the Berounka and Litavka rivers. Beroun creates a conurbation with Králův Dvůr, former par ...

railway station, October 2006 File:471 035 CD Ostrava.jpg, The whole unit about to arrive

Ostrava hlavní nádraží Ostrava main railway station, (, abbreviated ), is a railway station in city part Ostrava-Přívoz and main train terminus of Ostrava, third biggest city in the Czech Republic. Tracks Station is an important transport junction. All types of tra ...

, June 2008 File:Praha, Smíchov, Smíchovské nádraží, City Elephant (nový).jpg, The cab car with new livery File: Vnitřní informační panel vlaku.jpg, The internal information File: Vnější informační panel vlaku.jpg, The external information File:471_lower.jpg, Second class saloon, lower floor File:471_upper.jpg, Second class saloon, upper floor File:471_mezzanine.jpg, Second class saloon, mezzanine File:Czech Raildays 2012, ČD 471, 471 076-5 (09).jpg, Stairs File:471_first_class.jpg, First class saloon, upper floor of the electric car File:471_lifting_platform.jpg, Lifting platform for immobile persons File:471-Traglastenabteil.jpg, Load compartement with bicycle stand for bicycles

References

* * * *

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:CD Class 471 Articles containing video clips Double-decker EMUs Electric multiple units of the Czech Republic Škoda locomotives Train-related introductions in 1997