As most railfans, I usually like old trains, and despite realizing that new trains are better from an operator's point of view, I often question their mundane design and sub-par reliability in adverse weather conditions. There are of course exceptions in terms of appearance, like the Bombardier Talent or the Siemens Taurus, no question about that. The majority of DB EMUs however is a nightmare in many respects, not just for railfans. Apart from safety issues concerning brakes and doors, they are noisy inside, and the seating is just terrible. Hard seats, almost vertical backrests, no armrests, it feels like a return to third-class compartments with wooden benches.

Recently, I discovered another exception to this rule of thumb: The Stadler Flirts, leased by the Eurobahn GmbH, a private operator that managed to take over two RegionalExpress lines from DB, after those were put up for bids. Flirt is an acronym for "Flinker Leichter Innovativer Regional-Triebzug", which translates into "Speedy, Light, Innovative Regional Multiple Unit". These articulated EMUs are available in a great number of configurations in terms of lenght, number of powered bogies, interior, top speed et cetera. Most of them usually have a top speed of 100mph, but even 125mph is possible, if you're in that big a hurry.

Of course, they have all the usual perks of EMUs, rapid acceleration and braking, important for regional service, a high top speed, air conditioning and air suspension, not to mention being 100% low floor. There are even little bridges that extend from the train towards the platform to close the gap, reducing the risk of falling down in between train and platform, while also allowing people in wheelchairs to enter without help. The toilets are also handicapped accessible, and there are large colour displays inside that inform passengers about upcoming stops and possible connections. However, the best part by miles are the seats.

THEY DON’T SUCK!!!oneone!

You sit down, and your spine does NOT come out the top of your head! The backrest isn't vertical, it is nicely angled, and behold, there is enough legroom! Normally, I always travel on double deckers, which have the most comfortable seats among regional stock. Still, those suck compared to the ones Eurobahn had installed here. The ones I’m used to have very little legroom, either you’re sitting upright like in church, with the headrest at your neck, or you slump down, with your knee caps supporting your weight against the seat in front of you. In the Flirt, everything fits, it’s almost eerie to have enough space in front of you! The headrests even have "ears" to prevent your head from hitting the window every time you fall asleep, while double deckers have rather disgusting patches on the windows next to seats, left by an abundance of greasy-haired passengers. Yes, this train is indeed good in many respects, something even a lover of oldschool like myself can live with. Now if they’d just stop tearing down half of Stuttgart and get the Rhine-Ruhr-Express going instead, I’d be a lot more satisfied.

In case you were wondering, yes, this is the train from my previous shot.