Czech Railways (České dráhy) and the Siemens–Škoda consortium have reached a key milestone in the rollout of the new ComfortJet trainsets. The first two complete nine-car ComfortJet units have officially entered trial service with passengers on board.
“Last night, passengers travelled for the first time on a full ComfortJet train, including the new restaurant car and first-class driving car. This is a significant step towards introducing all twenty ComfortJets into regular service,” said Michal Krapinec, Chairman of the Board and CEO of České dráhy. “Following domestic testing, these trains will also operate in Germany, Slovakia, Austria, and Hungary later this year.”
ComfortJet: Current deployment and operations
At present, two nine-car ComfortJet units are in service. They are currently running on the IC 517 Ostravan (Prague–Bohumín) and IC 510 Ostravan (Bohumín–Prague) routes. As more trains are reconfigured to the full nine-car layout, trial operations will extend to additional services, including the IC 512/515 Ostravan route, which is currently operating with a detour due to construction.
While the trains are currently operated in a push-pull configuration without active use of the driving car, all on-board services are fully available to passengers. These include catering by JLV, offering a menu comparable to that found on Railjet services.
International expansion planned for 2025
Additional ComfortJet units will be introduced throughout 2025 on international routes linking Prague with Berlin, Budapest, and Graz.
Czech Railways has ordered twenty non-powered ComfortJet units from the Siemens–Škoda consortium. Each full trainset features nine cars, providing 555 seats—99 in first class—and an 18-seat restaurant section. The train is approximately 237 metres long and built for speeds of up to 230 km/h. They are operated with Siemens Vectron locomotives.
Enhanced passenger experience
Designed to offer a state-of-the-art passenger experience, ComfortJet trains feature air-conditioned interiors, a full restaurant car, wheelchair-accessible facilities, family-friendly zones, dedicated spaces for prams, bicycles, and large luggage, as well as onboard Wi-Fi. Special windows improve mobile phone signal reception, and passengers can charge devices via standard 230V sockets and USB ports.
Once fully rolled out, ComfortJets will operate key routes from Prague via Ústí nad Labem to Germany and via Pardubice and Brno to Austria, Slovakia, and Hungary.
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