A new S-Bahn line was opened in 1981 to relieve pressure on the traditional route from Hamburg Hbf to Altona. The line runs in tunnel from just north of the Hbf to Altona, serving stations in the city centre.
474.106 led 474.104 out of the new tunnel with S3 service 43153, the 13:10 from Pinneberg to Buxtehude, on 1 October 2015. This route requires trains to go beyond the limit of third rail electrification and both units are from a batch equipped to operate under 15kV AC overhead electrification as well as from the 1200V DC third rail.