Czech Railways Orders 180 Viaggio Comfort Cars

On 12 April 2021, České dráhy signed a contract with the Siemens Mobility and Škoda Transportation consortium for 20 Viaggio Comfort nine-car non-traction units including a driving trailer, designed for a maximum operating speed of 230 km/h. The trains will be delivered between 2024 and 2026, and will be used on the Praha - Berlin - Hamburg and Praha - Brno - Wien/Budapest services.

The order is worth 12.5 billion CZK (around 480 million EUR). Apart of 180 cars for ČD also two more are supposed to be purchased by Správa železnic, the Czech railway infrastructure manager, for testing purposes, replacing the elderly measurement cars.

Ivan Bednárik, ČD CEO, states: „The Czech Republic is planning to increase the speed limit on its conventional lines to 200 km/h and is preparing building of 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.“

The rakes will be formed by two first class cars (one of them a driving trailer), one restaurant car and six second class cars, one of them fitted for families and wheelchair passengers (adjacent to the restaurant car) and one with a compartment for bikes (the end car, adjacent to the locomotive).

The new cars will have a number of innovative features. Passengers will appreciate adjustable seats in first and second class, charging sockets for e-bikes, and a bistro area. WiFi connections, frequency-transparent windows for improved mobile phone reception, and an on-board information and electronic reservation system will be standard. The trains will also be equipped with wireless mobile phone chargers in first class, a children's cinema, and storage space for 12 bicycles. 

The cars will be authorised for operation in the Czech Republic and neighboring European countries such as Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, and Poland. The interoperability of the vehicles will be ensured by meeting the respective regional specifications. The driving trailers will be equipped with on-board  ETCS as well as national ATP.

ČD previously ordered 50 Viaggio Comfort cars (which will form ten five-car rakes) from Siemens Mobility and Škoda Transportation in June 2018.