The Regio-Shuttle is a diesel railcar for local transport that was developed by Adtranz and was manufactured from 1996 to 2013. After Adtranz was taken over by Bombardier, the manufacturing plant went to Stadler Rail AG, which was now responsible for sales and production.
The trapezoidal window frames, which have their origin in the structure of the vehicle body, are characteristic of the vehicle. This is constructed in the form of a truss bridge and thus enables a weight-saving construction. As power source, two independent units at the ends are used, each consisting of a diesel engine with hydromechanical power transmission. The engines come from either MAN or Iveco and, with 257 or 265 kW each and an empty weight of only 40 tonnes, give the Regio-Shuttle an acceleration that in some cases even surpasses electrically powered suburban trains. Due to all four axles being powered, sufficient traction is available so that, for example, it can also be used on the Hunsrück railway with a gradient of six percent. If there is a high number of passengers, several Regio-Shuttles can run in multiple, whereby up to six vehicles can be connected either with a central buffer coupling or conventional screw couplings.
Although it was still foreseeable in 2006 that production would soon end, further orders followed and towards the end of 2013 the number of pieces delivered had reached almost 500. Of these, 74 are in service with the DB AG, followed by the Erfurter Bahn with 61 and the Hohenzollerische Landesbahn with 50. The rest is divided between a large number of other operators, including 33 units as the class 840/841 with the Czech Railways.