CZECH operator Leo Express entered the Polish domestic market on March 1, extending its Prague - Kraków open-access service to Warsaw. The inaugural train left Warsaw Wschodnia station at 07.21, with Leo Express CEO, Peter Köhler, and invited guests onboard.
There are two services a day in each direction, calling at Warsaw Central, Warsaw Zachodnia, Opoczno Południe, Włoszczowa Północ and Kraków Główny before proceeding to Ostrava in the Czech Republic and then Olomouc, Pardubice and Prague. The second departure from Warsaw to Kraków and Prague is at 22.36, with departures from Kraków to Warsaw at 03.25 and 18.45.
Four classes of travel are available, including Premium Sleeper where seats convert to beds for longer journeys. Passenger facilities include an at-seat catering service of hot and cold meals as well as onboard Wi-Fi.
Leo Express reports that demand for the new service is high, with over 100,000 tickets sold in Poland in advance of the launch. A connecting bus service from Kraków to Lviv in Ukraine is due to be launched next month.
The start of domestic operations in Poland forms part of the broader growth strategy at Leo Express, which is targeting both the open-access and PSO markets. The company expects traffic to grow by at least 1.5 million passengers this year to reach a total of over 6 million.
On April 30, Leo Express is due to launch a new service from Prague to Bratislava in Slovakia, calling at Pardubice, Olomouc Otrokovice, and Staré Město u Uherského Hradiště. This will be operated with locomotive-hauled Talgo trains leased from Spanish national operator Renfe, which holds a 50% stake in Leo Express.
This will be followed on June 25 by Leo Express entering the German market with a new cross-border service from Frankfurt am Main to Leipzig, Dresden, Prague, Ostrava, Kraków and Przemyśl in Poland. Leo Express says that tickets for all its new services are now on sale.
Talgo fleet
Last month Leo Express unveiled its new visual identity applied to the Talgo fleet. The company says deployment of the Talgo trains on routes in the Czech Republic and Slovakia marks a key step in the development of its long-distance network in Central Europe.
Leo Express has leased three 13-car Talgo IV trains from Renfe, each seating a total of 350 passengers in Business and Economy class and capable of operating at up to 200km/h.
“Railway competition brings significant savings for public finances and taxpayers,” Köhler says. “We demonstrate that key routes can operate without subsidy, at full commercial risk.”
