Passengers travelling from Prague to Berlin and back can look forward to a new standard of comfort and services. From 29 September, České dráhy will deploy the latest ComfortJet long-distance trainsets from the consortium of manufacturers consisting of Siemens Mobility and Škoda Group on two pairs of the Berliner trains operated in cooperation with Deutsche Bahn on a daily basis. For the time being, České dráhy has put into service four trainsets in a transitional eight-car configuration without a control car and a dining car. České dráhy, Siemens Mobility and Škoda Group also presented the ComfortJet trainsets to the European public at the Innotrans 2024 international railway trade fair held in Berlin.
„I am glad that passengers will be able to see the new ComfortJet trainsets and it is quite symbolic that this will happen for the first time in larger numbers on the route between the Czech and German capital cities. The Czech Republic and Germany have always had close links, the railway has been a part of our common history and, thanks to the upcoming high-speed railway lines, it will be a guarantee of our successful future as well. Moreover, ComfortJet is an entirely Central European project, with its individual parts being built in the Czech Republic, Germany and Austria. I wish the ComfortJet trainsets and especially their passengers many happy kilometres and I am looking forward to taking a ride on the board of these trains,” says Martin Kupka, Minister of Transport of the Czech Republic.
„The ComfortJet trainsets represent the highlight of the current offer provided by České dráhy. They are equipped with the most modern features and offer passengers unrivalled comfort for their journeys, regardless of whether they are travelling for business purposes or pleasure. We are now taking delivery of the trainsets in a temporary eight-carriage configuration without a control car and a dining car, which the manufacturer should start delivering to us in the course of next year. Therefore, we will now be adding a dining car of a classical design so that our passengers are not deprived of the dining experience on the board of our trains,” points out Michal Krapinec, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Director General of České dráhy, continuing: „As the ComfortJet takeover processes continue, we will be extending their operation even to the Vindobona or Metropolitan trains. They will gradually dominate passenger transport on our most important international lines and, along with this operation, also on the most important national corridors from Prague to Brno, Pardubice or Ústí nad Labem.”
From Sunday 29 September, two ComfortJet trainsets will be deployed in a regular configuration on the EC 178 / 175 and EC 176 / 177 Berliner Prague – Berlin services and back. The ComfortJet carriages will be supplemented on the trains by the WRmz815 dining cars, which regular passengers travelling to Berlin know very well. From Monday, 23 September, České dráhy has also deployed one ComfortJet trainset temporarily on the selected Košičan trains running on the Prague – Ostrava – Košice line. The other trainsets currently taken over will now serve as circulation backup trains or they will be used for continuation of the training of the on-board crew staff members and workshop staff.
„We are delighted with the leap in quality which the new ComfortJet trainset means for our passengers. Not only do we offer more seats and comfort on the popular Prague – Berlin – Hamburg route, but we will soon be able to reduce journey times as well. ComfortJet is a genuine European train. With three power supply systems and permits in seven countries, it can connect Graz and Budapest in the south, as well as Prague with Berlin and Hamburg in the north. In the future, it will even go as far as Copenhagen. We are delighted to be able to realise such ambitious projects together with České dráhy, our cooperation partner. This will be a further boost for successful cross-border long-distance transport. More cooperation in international long-distance transport is a central element of our DB objectives for 2027,” reminds Michael Peterson, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of Deutsche Bahn Fernverkehr.
„Energy-efficient and emission-free train travel at speeds of 200 km/h or more is an effective tool for connecting territories within a country as well as beyond its border. The integration of the Czech Republic into the European system of international long-distance trains, also serving for national transport purposes, and in the near future even into the high-speed railway system, is the right and important trend,” says Roman Kokšal, CEO Siemens Mobility Czech Republic, adding: „At Siemens Mobility, we have a long-standing sense of responsibility for creating products for sustainable and high-quality travelling, and I am pleased that our Czech development facilities have been involved to a large extent in these processes. At the Berlin trade fair, we presented the latest vehicles from the Siemens Vectouro platform, which bear the Czech footprint. Three specific types of carriages with a key role in the ComfortJet push-pull unit for České dráhy were represented there: a control car, a car with a restaurant compartment and a multifunctional car. The new carriages are designed to enhance the overall travel experience and to provide passengers with all the necessary functions during their time spent on the board of the train, while minimising the environmental impacts. They are equipped with advanced systems to reduce energy consumption or with modern safety features. I believe that they will be a great asset for the future of rail transport in the Czech Republic as well as beyond its borders.”
„Our partnership with Siemens Mobility is a great example of the successful cooperation which we have built up together. This is already the second passenger carriage project in a sequence which we have implemented together, which is evidence of our mutual trust in our capabilities. I am proud of our team in Ostrava, where the trains are being assembled, and also of our team in Pilsen, which, thanks to its professional expertise, has supplied the central power supply system for these modern carriages. Together, we are delivering innovative and reliable solutions for the future of rail transport in Europe which meet the needs of both passengers and carriers,” says Petr Novotný, CEO of the Škoda Group.
The deployment of the trainsets to international operation on the prestigious line follows up to the past months, when testing and tuning of all train systems took place so that the trainset was in its top condition from the first day of operation. The first trainset, which was taken over by České dráhy still before the summer, was subjected to a series of test runs on various railway lines in both the Czech Republic and Germany, with the participation of representatives of the partner carrier Deutsche Bahn. In recent months, České dráhy's on-board crew staff members also made themselves familiar with the ComfortJet trainsets during domestic journeys on the board of train services between Prague and Bohumín.
ComfortJet in points
- Large-space air-conditioned interior,
- Pressure-tightness of the entire trainset (especially important when travelling at higher speeds) to protect passengers from pressure surges and thus ear discomfort when passing through tunnels or meeting trains going in an opposite direction, while helping to create a quiet and clean interior for a long time,
- End carriage with a possibility of a frontal passage to possible supporting carriages,
- Internal accessibility, including wide permanently open inter-carriage gangways, automatic sliding doors between compartments and boarding areas operated by a photocell,
- Push-button operated boarding doors and a selective unlocking system for the boarding doors, which allows the doors to be centrally closed and locked against opening before the train starts to go and unlocked after the train has stopped (on the platform side only),
- Ergonomic adjustable seats in the first carriage class in a 2 + 1 configuration with leather covering and in the second carriage class in a 2 + 2 configuration with textile covering, the seats are situated behind each other (aircraft configuration) as well as opposite each other (vis-à-vis),
- Folding tables at the seats behind each other and fixed tables between the seats in the configuration opposite each other,
- Overhead shelves for normal luggage and racks for large luggage,
- Individual reading lights integrated into the luggage shelves in both the 1st and 2nd carriage classes,
- Wireless mobile phone chargers in the 1st carriage class,
- 230 V sockets and USB C-type connectors for the power supply of passengers’ portable electronics,
- Innovative window technology to allow mobile phone signals to pass more easily into the trainset while maintaining the thermal insulation properties of the glass,
- Retractable sun blinds in the windows,
- Wireless data Wi-Fi network for the internet connection,
- Entertainment and information on-board portal,
- Electronic audiovisual information system with LCD monitors and an electronic reservation system,
- Wheelchair accessible travel solution including 3 wheelchair spaces for passengers with impaired mobility, wheelchair accessible toilet, electric lifting platforms for wheelchair boarding/deboarding and sockets for recharging electric wheelchair batteries, folding tables for wheelchair passengers,
- For the blind and partially sighted passengers, the train is equipped with haptic buttons and Braille signs and moreover with a remote control for entrance door by using the radio for blind people,
- Children’s cinema, children’s board game in designated areas, a folding counter for changing baby nappies, places to store prams,
- Storage space for 12 bicycles (including sockets for the charging electric bike batteries) and large luggage,
- At one end, the unit is equipped with a traditional UIC interface which allows connection and passage to other cars of the conventional construction,
- Approved for operation in the Czech Republic as well as surrounding European countries (Germany, Poland, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary and Denmark),
- Fire protection system and an emergency brake override system to enable operation in very long tunnels, such as the Koralm Tunnel (32.9 km), Semmering Base Tunnel (27.3 km) or Fehmarn Belt Tunnel (17.6 km),
- Possibility of operation on high-speed lines,
- In the final configuration: First-class front control car, first-class inserted car, inserted car with a dining compartment and a second-class compartment, second-class inserted multi-purpose car (children's cinema, wheelchair spaces, etc.), four second-class inserted cars, second-class end car (bicycle transport compartment),
- 99 seats in the 1st carriage class, 456 seats in the 2nd carriage class,
- Dining compartment with 18 seats and the possibility of buying hot or cold meals and other refreshments during the journey, with a modern kitchen with chilled food technology and a multi-modal convection oven for heating meals, a coffee machine, a beer-tap system and a dishwasher for environment-friendly reusable dishes.
Author: Tiskové oddělení Českých drah
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