"Hungaria" With Through Haulage

As of 6 April 2021, the EC 172/173 “Hungaria" Budapest - Hamburg service is to be hauled by Class 193 Vectron of ČD/ELL whole the way without the change of locomotive. For this purpose, 193 293 was sent from Praha to Budapest on 2 February 2021, incoporated in EC 273 "Metropolitan" Praha - Budapest. In Hungary the machine is now being used for training of MÁV drivers.

The future through haulage on the 1,270 km long Budapest - Hamburg route is actually one of consequences of forthcoming modernisation of the Ústí nad Orlicí - Brandýs nad Orlicí section, which will bring fundamental capacity limitations and significant operational measures for both passenger and freight traffic on one of the Czech busiest sections. One of them is that all daylight express passenger trains on the Budapest/Graz - Břeclav - Prague lines are to be rerouted between Brno and Kolín to more hilly and sinuous line via Havlíčkův Brod.

To minimise the negative impact on journey times, both express trains, which pass through Praha when traversing the country en route between Břeclav and Děčín, railjet 256/257 "Vindobona" ​​Graz - Berlin and "Hungaria", will avoid the main station in the Czech capital, as the trains normally need to change direction there. While in case of "Hungaria", this is used also for change of locomotives, this will not be done anymore. 

This measure is supposed to last until December 2022 at least. Further to the upgrading of the Ústí nad Orlicí - Brandýs nad Orlicí section, modernisation of Brno - Blansko stretch of line will bring another one disruption of the Brno to Praha main line in 2022.