BVG Class 480

Class 480 cars were ordered by BVG because the Class 475 trains, which had been taken over from Deutsche Reichsbahn (DR) when BVG took control of the S-Bahn in West Berlin in 1984, were inadequate for use in West Berlin and were outdated. Both ends of a four-unit Class 480 train have a driving cab, allowing the flexibility of having two multiple units together. Four prototypes (numbered 480001/501 to 480004/504) were delivered from December 1986 to March 1987, followed by 41 production trains (480005/505 to 480045/545) from 24 October 1990 to 31 July 1992. Due to delays in the design of the Class 481, and to cope with reopening of the S-Bahn lines post-reunification, DR ordered forty extra Class 480 trains from Waggon Union in 1992, at a cost of 230 million DM (US$ million). The extra trains – numbered 480046/546 to 480085/585 – were delivered to the Grünau maintenance depot from October 1993 to 22 August 1994, before being transferred to the Wannsee depot in September 1994. As a result of in incident in the Nord-Süd Tunnel in August 2004, in which the last vehicle in a train was destroyed by fire, Class 480 trains were removed from routes S1, S2 and S25, bringing Class 481 trains into the service on these routes ahead of plan. These trains were redeployed to other lines such as S41, S42, S45 and S8. S85 also decided to use these trains. Due to the arrival of the Class 483/484 trains, all of them were relocated to line S3, where they still operate. What is important to mention, is that they don't exclusively operate on the S3. They can also still be seen on the S1/S2/S25/S26 lines and sometimes even other lines. The S5 is also a line where you can spot a BR480 quite often. == Design and operation ==

The Class 480 was designed by Herbert Lindinger, and is recognisable by its three-part angular windshield, large windows, and three sets of plug doors per side: Lindinger also proposed a new blue-grey livery for the trains that was applied to the mock-up and prototypes 480001/501 and 480002/502, while 480003/503 and 480004/504 carried the "traditional" red and ochre livery: Formation A Class 480 unit is a two-car married pair () with driver's cabs on both ends: this is similar to the formation of Classes A3L and F of the Berlin U-Bahn, both of which were in production around the same time as the Class 480. According to Deutsche Bahn, the arrangement allowed for standalone quarter or three-quarter train services during off-peak hours – something that only the Class 480 could provide until the introduction of the Class 483 in 2021. Each unit measures (overall) 36.8 metres long, 3.12 metres wide and 3.6 metres high: a car body measures 17.8 metres long and three metres wide. Each unit also weighs about 59 tonnes when empty, and can carry up to a total of 292 passengers (92 seating and 200 standing). == Deployment of trains ==

There are currently 65 units in service, according to Deutsche Bahn. These trains were deployed and commonly been seen at various lines: • S41: Ring (clockwise) • S42: Ring (counter-clockwise) • S45: Flughafen Schönefeld - Berlin-Südkreuz • S46: Königs Wusterhausen – Westend • S47: Spindlersfeld – Hermannstraße • S8: Zeuthen – Birkenwerder • S85: Grünau – Pankow == Fires ==

The Class 480 suffered five fires from 1992 to 2009, all caused by technical faults: the fires (along with the angular design and the Siemens toaster) contributed to the popularisation of the "Toaster" nickname: • On 31 August 1995, a fire broke out on 480009 at , due to another faulty heating system. • On 11 February 2000, 480053 was destroyed by fire near , due to defective cable insulation: there were no injuries, although passengers were forced to evacuate across the track. • On 25 February 2009, an empty 480556 was destroyed by fire at Wannsee, due to a faulty heating system: the following month, the Class 480 was banned from the Nord-Süd Tunnel. ==Planned withdrawal and service extension==

According to Deutsche Bahn, the "Toasters" were supposed to be replaced by Classes 483 and 484 by December 2023: however, 65 units were overhauled so that they could remain in service until the end of the decade. The upgrades, funded by the Senate of Berlin, included replacing all interior lighting with LEDs, and adding support for the ZBS () signalling system, which is replacing the old system based on train stops. However, the trains did not receive the new livery (mostly ochre with a red skirt and black doors) and interior (with blue seats), as the Class 481 did. ==Notes==