Siemens and Skoda win tender for €0.5bn contract to bring new rail carriages to Czech Republic

Czech Railways are continuing to modernise its fleet of railway rolling stock for long-distance and international railway lines, and Siemens Mobility and Skoda Transportation have won the contract tender to provide 20 Viaddio Comfort sets, made up of nine cars.

With a maximum operating speed of 230kph, the 180 carriages will be delivered between 2024 and 2026.

The contract for the carriages is worth around half a billion euros.

New rail carriages for Czech Railways — Credit: Siemens

The 180 carriages are intended to be used for ČD passenger transport and two additional carriages are expected to be purchased by Czech Railways for rail testing.

These new carriages have a number of new features, including:

Adjustable seats in both first and second class
Charging sockets for e-bikes
State-of-the-art Bistro area
Wifi
Electronic reservation system
Wireless phone chargers
Children’s cinema
Storage space for up to 12 bikes

Once built, the carriages will be approved for use in Czech Republic, Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland.

Siemens Mobility Minister with a piccadilly line loco

This new contract follows on from the purchase of 50 Viaggio Comfort carriages from Siemens Mobility and Skoda Transportation by Czech Railways in 2018.

“We are pleased that ČD is once again relying on our successful Viaggio passenger cars for expanding and modernizing its services”, says Gerhard Greiter, CEO of Region North-East Europe at Siemens Mobility. “These new cars will bear the mark of our Czech engineering department. They, for example, score points with barrier-free access for all passengers and quiet travel conditions at high speeds for comfortable journeys. Our state-of-the-art cars will help make sustainable rail transportation in Czech Republic even more attractive.”

“The Czech Republic is planning to increase the speed limit on its conventional rail lines to 200 km/h and build high-speed lines, enabling trains to run faster than the current limit of 160 km/h. That’s why we must continue with our planned investments in new trains that meet the standards for vehicles operating on both conventional and high-speed networks in Central Europe. This will strengthen our long-term strategic partnerships in international transport as well as our position in long-distance transport”, explains Ivan Bednárik, Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of ČD, adding: “The units will be equipped with the most advanced features available on the current European market and will offer passengers the highest level of comfort.”

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