Half of the Olomouc Panter Train Sets Already at Home, the Last Ones as a Gift “under the Christmas Tree”

One half of the planned thirty-item fleet of modern RegioPanter electric units are already in the Olomouc depot. Three trains from the previous class have been supplemented this week by the eleventh and twelfth units in the latest design. The RegioPanter train sets offer passengers a comfortable wheelchair accessible travel experience in air-conditioned interior areas equipped with an on-board Wi-Fi network and 230 V 50 Hz AC sockets and USB connectors for charging small travel electronics.

“In the Olomouc Region, we are putting new RegioPanter units manufactured by the Škoda Group into operation on a continuous basis. We have taken over the last two units this week and we are putting them into operation without delay. They have literally come as a gift 'under the Christmas tree' for the inhabitants of the Olomouc Region and will be in a regular operation still during the holidays. Together with three units from the previous class, 15 out of the planned total of 30 RegioPanter train sets are already available in Olomouc. They now serve the Šumperk – Uničov – Olomouc – Přerov – Nezamyslice – Vyškov na Moravě and Kouty nad Desnou – Zábřeh na Moravě – Olomouc – Prostějov – Nezamyslice lines. By next spring, all 30 modern trains will be running in the Region and will serve all planned lines in the Olomouc Region,” promises Jiří Ješeta, Member of the Board of Directors and Deputy Director General of ČD for Passenger Transport.

České dráhy has taken over the 640.208 and 640.217 electric units this week. The remaining 15 trains will be delivered by spring 2024 and will replace the remaining conventional train sets with a locomotive or electric units of the 460 class nicknamed “Tornados”. Currently, the modern units travel an average of over 7,300 kilometres every day in the territory of the Region.

From spring 2024 at the latest, the RegioPanter train sets will also head for the third regional line “Olomouc – Přerov – Hranice na Moravě – Vsetín” and the total daily running on the regional lines will increase to an average of more than 11,300 kilometres per day and the total capacity of the new electric units will be more than 7,000 seats.

With the new timetable, the number of RegioPanter train sets deployed on the line from Hranice na Moravě to Ostrava has increased as well and by the end of 2024 the same type of trains will serve the connection services from Přerov to Otrokovice and Břeclav.

The RegioPanter electric units are modern wheelchair-accessible trains equipped with air conditioning, on-board Wi-Fi network, the possibility of powering travel electronics from 230 V 50 Hz AC sockets and with USB contacts, and in the latest version they also offer charging of electric wheelchairs and electric bicycles. The trains feature an ample space to accommodate wheelchairs, prams, bicycles and other bulky luggage. The RegioPanter train sets are equipped with the latest safety and communication technology, such as the European Train Control System (ETCS) or GSM-R radio communication system.