Czech Railways: Revolutionary fleet renewal (2. strana)
Czech Railways fleet is constantly innovated: new trains and modernisation
www.technikaatrh.cz
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while about 170 new trains were deploy-
ed over the previous decade, in this year
alone we plan to put into service 140 elec-
tric, diesel, and non-traction units and
electric locomotives. Converting the new
vehicles to seating capacity, our comfor-
table new trains will offer over 22 thou-
sand seats to our customers. They are all
step-free and come equipped with air
conditioning, onboard Wi-Fi, and sockets
and USB ports for charging mobile pho-
nes or laptops as a standard.
p What direction is the train
modernisation trend taking?
What key parameters
are you looking at?
Any modern vehicle put into service must
meet a number of requirements and the
latest standards. These concern safety,
emissions, life cycle costs, passenger com-
fort, and accessibility, to name a few. Pa-
rameters such as power, weight, and ma-
ximum speed, which determine, for
example, the driving dynamics and achie-
ving the travel times required on individu-
al lines, are also important. To mention so-
me of the trends and train equipment,
then, for electric trains, they include ener-
gy regeneration to reduce energy con-
sumption and the carbon footprint of ra-
il operations. In the area of passive and
active safety, this means meeting the Eu-
ropean TSI standards in terms of the actu-
al design of the train, which must protect
the driver and passengers in the event of
a collision with an obstacle on the track
up to a specified speed, and fitting the tra-
ins with the ETCS European safety system.
As for train speeds, the standard for non-
electrified lines is now 120 km/h and for
electrified lines it is 160 km/h for regional
and suburban trains and 200 to 230 km/h
for long-distance trains on conventional
infrastructure. From the passengers' per-
spective, the standard equipment now
includes air conditioning, audiovisual in-
formation systems, and convenience fea-
tures for passengers with disabilities such
as haptic features for the blind or low-flo-
or access for wheelchair users and other
passengers with reduced mobility. Onbo-
ard Wi-Fi networks are now a standard fe-
ature, as is the ability to charge not only
travel electronics but also electric wheel-
chairs and e-bikes. From the operator's po-
int of view, the periodic repair interval is al-
so important. The longer the interval, the
more efficient the operation. For example,
the older type of fast train carriages needs
to be inspected by the workshop after half
a million kilometres, while the modern In-
terJet can travel 1.2 million kilometres be-
fore it needs to see the workshop.
p Can you outline who your
key partners are in the fleet
innovation efforts?
We select our suppliers in international
open tenders. As a result, the new trains
are made by companies in several countri-
es. The RegioPanter electric sets are supp-
lied by the Czech contractor Škoda
Group. They are also a partner of Siemens
Mobility in making the ComfortJet. The in-
dividual parts are made in Graz, Vienna,
Munich, and Ostrava, for example. The
Munich plant of Siemens Mobility makes
the Vectron locomotives. The RegioFox di-
esel sets are supplied by Pesa from Byd-
goszcz, Poland.
p Which technologies do you
consider essential for the future
development of your company,
especially in view of the plans
to build high-speed lines?
In terms of future technologies, it does not
matter if we are talking about high-speed
transport or a regional train. In both cases,
the technologies are basically identical and
only differ in certain parameters, such as tho-
se related to the speed or mileage figures
achieved. The future of rail is without doubt
linked with digitisation, IT, and the use of AI.
rail transport
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