Arriva will increase traffic between Benešov and Prague, and is also preparing an express to Šumava
The railway carrier wants to condense the timetable on the Prague-Benešov line and continue to southern Bohemia. After years of trampling on the spot, the company began to expand its domestic fleet. It will add four more to a single engine unit, which is currently driving from Germany after the Selb-Aš line, which was renewed last year. He buys trains from his “grandmother” Deutsche Bahn, the last two coming this week.
Thanks to them, Arriva wants to expand suburban traffic on the Prague – Benešov line and introduce an express from Prague via České Budějovice and Český Krumlov to Nová Pec in Šumava. According to Arriva director Jiří Nálevka, the express to the south of Bohemia is still under consideration in the stadium, but it appears in the proposals for the new timetable for next year. “We are currently finalizing the exact routes of our new connections,” Nálevka told the daily E15.
The company buys from Deutsche Bahn the same type of motor trains that have been running in single copies on the Benešov line on weekdays since February, and can also be seen on weekend flights to Trenčín. “Imported units will undergo a comprehensive modernization and renewal,” added Nálevka.
The reconstruction will be provided by the Šumperk company Pars nova from the Pilsen-based Škoda group. Arriva did not state the value of the acquisition or the modernization costs. “The modernization of the four units will be carried out and completed during October to December,” added Škoda Transportation spokeswoman Lubomíra Černá. The trains will receive new interiors and exterior paints, they will receive Czech security equipment, radio stations and high-beam headlights. The basics and the driver’s station will also undergo the transformation. In 2012, the people of Šumperk made similar adjustments to the first and so far only Arriva motorbike in the Czech Republic.
The goal of the subsidized line
Arriva has been trying to establish trains on Czech railways since 2013, when it launched commercial operation on the Prague-Kralupy line with a single train. After three months, however, she terminated it for a loss. The second commercial attempt this year is the established lines from Prague to Benešov and Trenčín.
However, the long-term goal of the company is to penetrate the subsidy system on long-distance and regional lines. Therefore, she tried it in the South Bohemian tender for Šumava locals and in the competition of the Ministry of Transport for the Plzeň – Most express trains. But it never offered the lowest price. Moreover, the tenders are still not completed due to Czech Railways protests.
The only subsidized line of Arriva is the municipal railway in the valley of the river Desná, where the company got thanks to the acquisition of Veolia Transport. But the local vehicles do not belong to Arriva. The motorists are owned by an association of municipalities and the electric locomotive is borrowed from RegioJet.