České dráhy Has Purchased Additional “Rail Cars” for the Liberec Region

České dráhy has purchased nine RegioShuttle RS1 rail cars from the Alpha Trains company which are intended for operation in the Liberec Region. The carrier has undertaken to increase the number of rail cars and the capacity of trains within the framework of extending the operation on the Jizera Mountain Railway and on the railway lines of the Frýdlant Headland.

“Thanks to the comfort offered by modern rail cars and also thanks to some infrastructure improvements, there is a growing interest in travelling on the railway lines of the Jizera Mountain Railway system and in the area of the Frýdlant Headland. A number of trains run with two rail cars and some services require an increase in capacity to three carriages. That is why we have agreed with the representatives of the Liberec Region to further fostering of the connection services, increase in the capacity and completion of the local RegioSpider rail car rolling stock with additional ‘rail cars’ from Germany,” says Jiří Ješeta, Member of the Board of Directors and Deputy Director General for Passenger Transport of České dráhy.

At České dráhy, the rail cars have the commercial name “RegioSpider”, while in Germany they are known as RegioShuttle RS 1. By signing the contract with Alpha Trains, České dráhy acquired nine rail cars manufactured in 2000 and modernised in 2014, which are still in service at the German carrier “NEB” in the Berlin and Brandenburg areas.

Before being put into service in the Liberec Region, all of the rail cars will be modified for operation in the Czech Republic and other modifications and adaptation steps will be made to them as requested by the Regional Authority. This will include, for example, a change in the exterior paintwork, the addition of on-board Wi-Fi, an information system, revitalisation of the interior, including reupholstering of the seats, the addition of check-in systems (e.g. ticket machines), etc.

Their deployment is expected from the end of 2026 at the latest in the Liberec Region, e.g., on the railway lines within the framework of the Jizera Mountain Railway system and in the Frýdlant Headland. The value of the contract is EUR 9 million excluding VAT.