2nd class control cab coach, type BDnf 784, of the German Federal Railways.

■ Version in "City-Bahn" design
■ Cologne – Gummersbach train route
■ With function decoder for light changes (white/red) for both analogue and digital operation
■ With switchable train destination display lighting in digital mode
■ The interior design corresponds to the previously known versions
■ Direct current version

At the beginning of the 1980s, the German Federal Railways continued to shut down many lines in order to save costs. However, a breath of fresh air came in 1983 with a new Board of Directors: After correcting fundamental errors in the calculations, the DB Board of Directors decided on a pilot project to improve short-distance traffic outside the suburban railway network in the major cities. Initially planned for the southern Black Forest, the Cologne – Gummersbach route was chosen, a route with many bends and a parallel motorway. The timetable was changed to an hourly interval with 218 hauled push-pull trains, the route was improved at certain points and the carriages were redesigned by the DB Design Centre. Externally, the colour scheme was very similar to the S-Bahn trains. To attract attention, the first set was even equipped with a kiosk in 1984. The Cologne – Gummersbach City-Bahn project was a great success: many other lines followed, and with wagons in the mint green product colours. In 1991, the interval timetable was also introduced nationwide in short-distance traffic and the wave of closures of DB light railways for passenger traffic was halted.