České dráhy has put into regular operation the first RegioFox DMUs in the Hradec Králové Region, the fifth region in the Czech Republic where passengers can travel on the local railway lines with the brand-new modern trainsets.
Currently, four RegioFox trainsets have been delivered to the region and passengers can see them operating for the first time on the railway line between Trutnov and Martinice v Krkonoších.
By the end of this year, 12 more units should be put into operation on region’s rail network. A total of 33 trainsets will be delivered to eastern Bohemia over the next two years. The comfort of the new regional trains has also been tested on August 28, 2024 by the leading representatives of the Hradec Králové Region, headed by the Chairman of the Council of the Regional Authority Martin Červíček, during the common journey from Trutnov to Náchod.
“In the next two years, most of the rolling stock in our region will undergo a renewal process. České dráhy will deploy altogether 40 modern train units, of which seven are electric trains and 33 diesel trains, which passengers know under the RegioFox name. These new trains will offer passengers more comfortable and safer travelling, while at the same time the Region will obtain sufficient train connections and additional opportunities for the use of information technology, as well as a better-quality public transport offer, which the Region provides for passengers,” said Martin Červíček.
“After delivery of all 33 units, the train services operated by the “Fox” trainsets should cover approximately 2 million kilometres per year in the Hradec Králové Region,” says Michal Krapinec, the Director General of České dráhy.
The deployment of the RegioFox DMUs ordered by the Hradec Králové Region is planned on the following routes:
- Kolín – Chlumec nad Cidlinou – Stará Paka – Trutnov;
- Hradec Králové – Letohrad, Choceň – Týniště nad Orlicí – Náchod – Hronov;
- Hradec Králové – Meziměstí – Broumov; and
- Hradec Králové – Trutnov – Svoboda nad Úpou.
The air-conditioned RegioFox DMUs have a capacity of 115 seats including folding seats, 8 places for bicycles, 3 places for prams, and 2 places for wheelchairs. The trains are equipped with Wi-Fi network, USB sockets and audio-visual system, passenger counting system, security camera systems. They are capable of operating at 120 km/h.
The “Fox” trains in the Hradec Králové Region will serve non-electrified railway lines and will replace mainly the railcars from the turn of the 1960s and 1970s, which are sometimes nicknamed “Vindobona” according to their original deployment or “Hydra” according to the hydrodynamic power transmission, and partly also the diesel units known as Regionova.
The RegioFox trainsets are a part of the record-breaking replacement of trains in the history of the Hradec Králové Region. Since the beginning of the summer holidays, passengers have been carried on the railway lines from the regional capital to Chlumec nad Cidlinou and to Týniště nad Orlicí by modern electric RegioPanter trains in the number of 3 two-car and 4 three-car EMUs. Together with the delivery of 33 “Fox” trains, České dráhy in cooperation with the Hradec Králové Region will put a total of 40 modern regional trains on the tracks in the following years. The brand-new trains will then ensure more than 60% of all regional transport capacity in the Hradec Králové Region. At the same time, 100% of all regional services will be operated by barrier-free, low-floor trains which guarantee comfortable travel for all groups of people, including the elderly passengers, small children, people in wheelchairs, etc.
The trains are manufactured by Pesa Bydgoszcz and delivered under a framework contract signed in 2021 for the supply of 160 two-car DMUs. The firm order covered the delivery of 33 trains and in November 2023, ČD exercised an option and ordered 30 additional DMUs to operate the western part of Central Bohemia region.
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