Zwickau is the fourth largest city in Sachsen.  Approximately 100,000 people live in Zwickau, and about 500,000 people live in the surrounding area.
The city of Zwickau has a particular problem. The tram system and the heavy rail system utilize different track gauges. The heavy rail trains use a standard gauge of 1.435 m, while the trams travel on a track with only 1 meter gauge. To implement an integrated rail system as with the Karlsruhe Model would require not only a great investment, but also to progress backwards.

• Through the central city of Zwickau, new trains like the RegioSprinter were made to comply with not only the BOStrab guidelines for light rail, but also the EBO specifications for heavy rail vehicles.  The safety systems, such as the vehicle lighting system, including the brake lights and turn signals, the warning horns and automatic speed override systems must also comply with the BOStrab standards.
• In order to minimize delay and tardiness, in the heavy rail region of the track the RegioSprinter is outfitted with transponders capable of changing the traffic signals to grant the transit vehicle priority.
• The speed-limit for the RegioSprinter in the section according to BOStrab was reduced to 80 km/h on the connecting passage and to 40 km/h on the new build inner-city three-track.