#4118· Baureihe 403.0 (1973)
DB Class 403
🇩🇪 Germany ·built by Linke-Hofmann· from 1972· class of 3 four-car German electric multiple units
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10 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. 403-LH: Benedikt Dohmen ( User:Benedictus ), Archiv-Nr. 119/04· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 2. DB 403 (Lufthansa Airport Express): Manfred Kopka· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 3. DB Baureihe 403.0: Jan Oosterhuis· Public domain
- 4. 403 als Leerreisezug zwischen Laufach und Heigenbrücken (Altstrecke) am ehemaligen Block Eisenwerk: Joachim Seyferth· CC BY 4.0
- 5. BesigheimelTW Baureihe 403 - LABW - Staatsarchiv Ludwigsburg PL 734 KD 2079: Harald Knauer· CC BY 4.0
- 6. Bruchsal- Lokführer im neuen Zug - LABW - Staatsarchiv Freiburg W 134 Nr. 114960: Willy Pragher· CC BY 4.0
- 7. DB 403 (IC): Manfred Kopka· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 8. DB 403 und ET 11: Manfred Kopka· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 9. 403 002 putlitz: Xdrei· CC BY-SA 2.0 de
- 10. 403 006 als Lufthansa-Airport-Express im Bahnhof Niederheimbach (Linke Rheinstrecke): Joachim Seyferth· CC BY 4.0
what is it?
The DB Class 403 was a series of three electric multiple units commissioned by the Deutsche Bundesbahn in the 1970s, an early predecessor of the Intercity-Express as a high-speed train. The units were mainly used for InterCity services and again by the Lufthansa airline in the 1980s. Due to the distinctive design of its front section, the unit was nicknamed the "Donald Duck".
who runs it
base stats
Bars compare against all trains: 600 km/h (maglev), 1,700 seats; power, weight and number built on a log scale up to 20 MW, 1,000 t and 20,000 built.
fun facts
- First built 54 years ago, in 1972.
- Top speed is 1.7× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- At full speed it would cover Amsterdam–Utrecht (≈ 40 km) in 11 minutes.
- 3.8 MW is about 45 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
- Weighs about as much as 39 African elephants (~6 t each).
- Served for 21 years (1972–1993).
multiple unit: A self-propelled train: motors are spread under the passenger cars, so no separate locomotive.
spec sheet
- built
- 1972
- in service from
- 1972
- retired
- 1993
- status
- retired
- number built
- 3
- kind
- multiple unit
- traction
- electric
- origin
- 🇩🇪 Germany
- builders
- Linke-Hofmann, Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm, AEG, Brown, Boveri & Cie, Siemens, Alstom
- operators
- Deutsche Bundesbahn
- top speed
- 220 km/h
- power
- 3.8 MW
- gauge
- 1,435 mm standard gauge
- electric system
- Catenary
- wheel arrangement
- Bo′Bo′+Bo′Bo′+Bo′Bo′+Bo′Bo′
- weight
- 236 t
- Dutch name
- Baureihe 403.0 (1973)
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q458933, Wikipedia: DB Class 403 (1973) (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.