In the year 2000, Alstom presented a multiple commuter train unit called Lirex (Light Innovative Regional Express), which was exclusively equipped with independent single-wheel chassis. Based on the experience with this prototype, the "Coradia Nordic" trainsets for Sweden were developed, which were delivered from 2005 onwards and had "classic" Jacobs bogies instead of the single wheels. The "Coradia Continental" trains were adapted to the smaller Central European profile. The first of these units were delivered in 2008 for the regional trains network around Augsburg. Since then, the trainsets were ordered by several operators. The trains delivered from 2014 got a new, crash-optimized front.

The railbuses of the series 795-798 (former West Germany) and 772 (former East Germany) are light, two-axle diesel railcars for low-cost operation on secondary lines, which were used in the second half of the 20th century in large numbers. The "Uerdinger" railbuses in West Germany were built from the 1950s onwards, the manufacturer MAN developed a model for the non-Federal railways. From the 1960s onwards, the so-called LVT was used in the GDR, often also referred to as a railbus. In the 1990s, they were replaced by modern low-floor diesel units.