22 train sets will be replaced by the end of 2024 in the Prague Integrated Transport
CityElefant suburban train in the center of Prague. Photo: Jan Puci
By the end of 2024, the Prague Integrated Transport (PID) will replace 22 train sets that run on suburban lines – for example from Prague to Kralupy, Kolín or Čáslav. New cars with a capacity of 230 passengers will replace the existing ones, which will be moved to another line. The trains will be purchased by České dráhy (ČD), which operates them for Prague and the Central Bohemian Region. This follows from a document approved by the Prague councilors today. It is not clear from the material how much the restoration will cost. PID includes connected public transport in the capital and central Bohemia.
“After ten years, we are again developing the rolling stock for the railway. In order to attract new passengers and maintain comfort, we need to buy the most modern machines and increase transport capacity,” Deputy Mayor Adam Scheinherr (Prague Sobě) told ČTK.
The new trains will run on line S4/U4 from Prague to Kralupy nad Vltavou and Ústí nad Labem. Another part of the trains was to be used on line S7 in the section Prague – Řevnice. “However, at the request of the Central Bohemian Region, it is now assumed that these vehicles will be deployed on the express train line R41 Prague – Kolín – Čáslav,” the approved document reads. During the peaks of the working day, trains from Prague to Kralup and Kolín will run twice, and the capacity will thus increase by 460 passengers.
The cars that run on the line now will be used after the purchase of new trains according to the material to increase capacity and shorten the peak interval to 15 minutes on the Prague – Lysá nad Labem line.
This will happen after the modernization of the line is completed in 2024 or 2025. Part of the trains deployed on the R41 line from Prague to Cologne will be retired and part will be used on weekends during the holiday periods on other lines.
PID includes public transport in Prague and public transport in the Central Bohemian Region. In addition to city and suburban buses, trams, metro and trains, it also operates some ferries or the cable car on Petřín.
The system is divided into several lanes, and passengers then pay for transport according to how many lanes they pass along the way. Public transport in Prague and Central Bohemia is governed by uniform tariffs.