Largest Fleet Renewal in ČD History: Thousands of New Seats for Commuters and Travellers

Czech Railways are continuing their largest-ever fleet modernisation. Hundreds of new trains are bringing thousands of air-conditioned seats for commuters and travellers, while older carriages and locomotives are gradually being retired.

Czech Railways (České dráhy | ČD) are carrying out a large-scale modernisation of their fleet: hundreds of new vehicles will offer greater comfort for daily commutes to work, school, sports, or leisure activities. To make room for these modern trains, however, older carriages and locomotives must be retired. The process of phasing out older vehicles, which began last year, continues this year.

"This year marks the peak of the roughly four-year phase of our fleet’s largest modernisation," says Michal Krapinec, Chairman and CEO of Czech Railways. "During this period, we have put into service 110 two- and three-car RegioPanter trains, 106 motorised RegioFox units, 20 ComfortJet trains, and 150 Siemens Vectron locomotives. Fifty of these entered our ownership directly, while 100 were leased. Calculated by individual carriages or train sets, that amounts to 822 new vehicles with nearly 45,000 air-conditioned seats. To accommodate this influx of new trains, we had to free up tracks in depots and sidings."

Foto: České dráhy

Classic leather-seated carriages disappearing from the fleet

Both locomotives and passenger carriages are being scrapped. A particularly large number of “Koženky” – classic carriages with leather bench seats – are being removed from the fleet. These originate mainly from Czech and German production and were common in both long-distance and regional services. Last year alone, 279 older vehicles were scrapped – roughly equivalent to one carriage or locomotive retired per day.

In addition to scrapping, some older vehicles were sold. A total of 43 carriages found new owners, including Class 810 motor units and their trailers, various express train carriages of the UIC-Y/B 70 type, particularly Class B249, as well as a few historic vehicles. Buyers came not only from the Czech Republic but also from Germany and Poland.

Foto: České dráhy

This year, Czech Railways plan to remove up to 500 old carriages and locomotives from the fleet. This primarily involves older locomotives such as Class 242, Class 810 motor units, and, after their withdrawal, Class 854, as well as various UIC-Y/B 70 carriages from Czech and German production, including B249 units, different Bdt and BDs variants, and other types. Even the unpopular “Honeckers” are being gradually retired. Meanwhile, the sale of surplus vehicles to domestic and international buyers is continuing. Plans include the disposal of electric locomotives of Classes A-1216 and 380.