The First Three-carriage RegioPanter Units of the Second Generation Have Been Put into Operation in the Olomouc Region

České dráhy has deployed three of the newest three-carriage RegioPanter train sets on the Olomouc – Uničov – Šumperk railway line. The handover of the three units took place at the beginning of the week, after which the Olomouc Region stickers were placed on them. Further RegioPanter units of the 640 class, manufactured by the Škoda Group, will be delivered in the second half of the year and at the beginning of 2024, with a total of 27 units running on railway lines in electric traction in the Olomouc Region. The second-generation RegioPanter unit has a capacity of 234 seats and offers everything what meets the standards of modern travel in the 21st century regional transport.

Yesterday, the first of the three newest RegioPanter units made its premiere run on the first morning service from Olomouc to Šumperk. The Os 12433 train left Olomouc at 4:15 a.m. and arrived at the destination station at 5:36 a.m. The second unit left yesterday afternoon and the third one should be deployed during this day. All these three units are in a trial operation, which is connected with in-service tuning, and the manufacturer will ensure remedy of any guarantee defects if required.

Since the summer timetable change, i.e., since 11 June, a more dynamic and more comprehensive timetable has been in force, which on the Olomouc – Uničov section already takes full advantage of both the line speed of 160 km/h and of the dynamical characteristics of the electric units operated there. The timetable is therefore faster and offers a larger number of train connections. For some of them (fast trains), the travel time in the section from Šumperk to Olomouc has been reduced by 12 to 15 minutes to a total of 50 minutes. The railway infrastructure from Olomouc to Šumperk is the most modern, fastest and also fully electrified regional railway line, on which only trains equipped with the European Train Control System (ETCS) can run from the new year.

During the upcoming months, 27 three-car RegioPanter units will be gradually delivered to the region. “Thanks to this fact, the Olomouc Region will gain the most modern regional railway transport system in the country. The electric units offer comfortable travelling and maximum comfort. They are wheelchair accessible, have comfortable seats with plenty of legroom, you can charge small electronics or connect to Wi-Fi onboard these vehicles. We believe that the new trains and faster connections will attract new customers to the trains,” says Jiří Ješeta, Member of the Board of Directors and Deputy Director General of České dráhy for Passenger Transport.

Since the beginning of this year, six new two-carriage RegioPanters with a capacity of 160 seats have been running on the Olomouc – Uničov – Šumperk railway line (No. 290). Thanks to the deployment of the three-carriage train sets, the entire railway line operation is now covered only by RegioPanter units of the 650 and 640 classes. In addition to the Šumperk – Uničov – Olomouc section, these units now also serve the entire new train line, which continues via Přerov to Vyškov in Moravia. A classical train set consisting of a 362-class locomotive and passenger carriages serves as a backup solution.

Equipment of electric units in points

• Modern, bright and well-arranged air-conditioned interior with ergonomically designed upholstered seats in 1st and 2nd carriage classes;
• Wheelchair-accessible boarding with the vehicle floor at the level of modern platforms without the need to climb stairs; there is a special movable decking for wheelchair passengers to bridge the space between the platform and the carriage floor; at stops with lower platforms, an additional pull-out step will facilitate boarding;
• Modern safe sliding doors operated by push buttons, centrally closed and locked before the train starts to move; in addition, for the blind and visually impaired passengers, the front door of the unit will be equipped with a remote door control system operated by a blind radio and equipped with an acoustic beacon;
• A spacious wheelchair accessible toilet with a closed system and equipped with a folding table for changing baby nappies;
• Additional services, e.g., electrical power supply sockets for powering passengers’ portable electronics, such as mobile phones, tablets etc., including USB ports, Wi-Fi, tiltable or folding tables depending on the seating arrangement and 230 V sockets for charging electric wheelchair batteries;
• The interior space is large enough to accommodate baby carriages, bicycles and other voluminous luggage;
• A modern audiovisual information system providing information about the train journey and stops to all passengers, including blind, partially sighted or deaf people; information labels in Braille will also be available inside the train for the blind and partially sighted passengers.