CZECH Railways (CD) has purchased 11 RS1 RegioShuttle diesel railcars from second-hand vehicle supplier Heros. The single-car vehicles will be refurbished by CD subsidiary DPOV before entering service in the Central Bohemia region (nine railcars) and the Ústí region (two railcars).
The railcars, named RegioSpider by CD and originally built by AdTranz in 1997-98, will be refurbished at DPOV’s plants at Přerov and Veselí nad Moravou and will be fitted with modern passenger information systems, Wi-Fi and 230V/USB power sockets. Some will also have GSM-R train radio and air-conditioning installed.
"The first three cars, originally operated by German companies, have already been transported from Germany to the Czech Republic," says Ms Jiří Ješeta, CD’s deputy general manager of passenger transport.
The remaining eight railcars, most recently used by German private operators HZL, BSB and SWEG, will be moved to the Czech Republic later this year.
CD currently has a total of 55 RS1 railcars, which have a maximum speed of 120km/h and are being used to replace ageing class 810 railcars. The Czech national operator is currently introducing 22 RS1 railcars previously operated in Germany and modernised at ŽOS Vrútky, split equally between the Ústí and Pardubice regions.
Another four RS1 railcars purchased from German Rail (DB) were moved to the Czech Republic earlier this month. After modernisation, they will enter service in the eastern part of the Central Bohemia region.
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