Czech Railways (ČD) has ordered 20 new high-speed trains for use on long-distance international lines from Prague and Brno. The new trains will have a capacity of 555 passengers, and will have a maximum operating speed of up to 230Km/h. Image: Visualisation of the new high-speed train. Credit: Škoda Transportation.
Czech Rep., Apr 15 (BD) – ČD has ordered 20 new state-of-the-art high-speed trains from a consortium of Siemens Mobility and Škoda Transportation, for use on international routes passing through the Czech Republic. The trains will meet the requirements for vehicles operating on both conventional and high-speed systems in Central Europe, and will also be compatible with the high-speed railway network that ČD hopes to build during the coming years.
The new trains will consist of nine carriages each, with a total capacity of 555 passengers. They will be able travel at a speed of up to 230 km/h, and are scheduled to come into operation between 2024 and 2026 on the long-distance routes Prague-Ústí nad Labem-Berlin-Hamburg, Prague-Brno-Budapest, and Prague-Brno-Vienna-Graz-Villach.
The non-traction design of the trains will reduce operating costs and shorten the time required for turnover in end stations. Between the compartments, automatic sliding doors controlled by a photocell will allow accessible passage through the entire train. Technical devices will protect passengers from pressure shocks and the penetration of noise, cold, and dust from the outside, helping to create a comfortable journey.
Onboard services will include a restaurant, children’s cinema, arrangements for wheelchair passengers – including three spaces for wheelchairs, accessible toilets, electric lifting platforms for boarding/alighting in wheelchairs, and sockets for recharging electric wheelchair batteries – and innovative window technology enabling easier passage of mobile phone signal while maintaining the thermal insulation properties of the glass.
[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”348″ gal_title=”ČD New High-Speed Trains”]Images: Visualisation of the new high-speed train from the inside. Credit: Škoda Transportation.
