GERMANY and the Czech Republic have agreed on improvements to cross-border passenger services between Munich and Prague, including the procurement of new trains.
During a meeting in Prague earlier this month, Czech transport minister, Martín Kupka, and Christian Bernreiter, transport minister for the southern German state of Bavaria, said that new rolling stock would be deployed on the cross-border route by 2031.
This will be achieved by a joint tender for new trains to be issued by the Czech Ministry of Transport and public transport authority Bavarian Railway (BEG) that will be launched at the end of this year.
Both Bavaria and the Czech Republic had hoped to improve the cross-border service by 2028, but no compliant bids were received last year in a tender to operate direct Eurocity services between Munich and Prague.
The transport ministers believe they have found solution by relaxing various requirements, including provision of onboard staff, catering and shunting services, for the future tender to operate services on route RE/RX36, which will result in significant cost reductions.
Currently, services between the two cities are operated jointly by Czech Railways (ČD) and Trenitalia subsidiary Die Länderbahn, under the Alex brand, which have Eurocity status within the Czech Republic.
The contract for Eurocity services between Prague and the German border is due to expire at the end of next year, while the contract for services from the German border to Munich expires in 2028.
To bridge the gap until the new fleet is introduced in 2031, it is expected that the Czech Ministry of Transport will run a short-term tender for operations on the Czech part of the route, while BEG will enter into discussions with Die Länderbahn over an extension of its existing contract.
Both ministers agree that improvements on the 440km route are long overdue. “The joint initiative with Bavaria is an important step for turning rail into the preferred choice for passengers on this important line,” says Kupka.
“The direct connection between Munich and Prague is in need of long-lasting and passenger-oriented improvements,” says Bernreiter. “That is why we been working on a joint approach.”
Infrastructure improvements
Significant infrastructure improvements are also planned for the Munich - Prague route. German infrastructure manager DB InfraGo is to upgrade and electrify main lines in the Upper Palatinate, including from Regensburg to Schwandorf and the Czech border. In the Czech Republic, the line between Pilsen, Domazlice and Furt im Wald, in Germany, will be upgraded to raise the maximum speed to 200km/h, with partial track doubling and electrification.
At present Munich - Prague services are operated under three different overhead power supply systems, 3kV dc and 25kV ac in the Czech Republic and 15kV 16.7Hz ac in Germany. Diesel traction is required on the cross-border section between Regensburg and Pilsen, with trains reversing at Schwandorf.
