Following a contract for nine electric units, with an option for further 11 units, that Železničná spoločnosť Slovensko (ZSSK) signed in September 2021 with a consortium of Škoda Group and ŽOS Trnava, ZSSK has ordered five more RegioPanter type four-car low-floor electric trains.
Delivery of the five new trains is scheduled for 2025. The original nine four-car sets were deployed in the Košice and Prešov regions, and ZSSK has exercised part of the option for additional sets to purchase five more trains. They will be deployed on Line 188 between Čierna n/Tisou, Košice, and Prešov, and Line 190 between Prešov and Košice, and between Košice, Michaľany, Slovenské Nové Mesto, and Čierna n/Tisou.
This order continues a successful cooperation between Škoda Group, ŽOS Trnava, and Železničná spoločnosť Slovensko. Škoda together with ŽOS Trnava has already produced and delivered 25 of RegioPanter trains to its Slovak partner, and with the new order, the Slovak fleet of RegioPanters will comprise 39 units.
Tomáš Ignačák, President of CZ/SK Region at Škoda Group, said: “The Slovak railway is modernising significantly, and we are very happy to be part of it. We very much appreciate our long-term cooperation with Železničná spoločnosť Slovensko.
“Slovakia is a key country for our group where we have been developing our activities for a long time and we cooperate very intensively with our Slovak partners. This train is proof of the very good Slovak-Czech cooperation, and it is very important to highlight the excellent cooperation with ŽOS Trnava, with whom we are also developing cooperation on other projects outside Slovakia.
“Škoda Group products are visible in Slovakia both on the railways, where passengers can ride not only RegioPanters but also electric units 671 or push-pull trains, as well as our trams in Bratislava have significantly helped to modernise Bratislava's urban transport and passengers can also use Škoda trolleybuses in several other cities.”
The Minister of Transport and Construction of the Slovak Republic, Andrej Doležal, after signing the financing with Roman Koreň, Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of ZSSK, said:
“I am very pleased that we are starting to actually draw down funds from the Recovery and Resilience Plan of the Slovak Republic. This is the first ever project under the Ministry of Transport that has signed funding from the Recovery Plan. We want to spend the maximum amount of funds that have been allocated to us and this is the first step towards achieving that goal.”
Chairman of the Board of ZSSK, Roman Koreň added:”These five additional electric units are a signal that we are serious about modernising the ZSSK fleet. I am pleased that we are contributing to improving the quality of transport again in the Eastern part of Slovakia, where the first new electric units will soon be available.”
