OSTRAVA has become the first city in the Czech Republic to gain a dedicated airport rail link with the inauguration of a new connection to Leoš Janáček International Airport on April 13.

THE prime minister of the Czech Republic Mr Bohuslav Sobotka and the mayor of Prague Mrs Adriana Krnáčová officially opened the latest addition to Prague's metro network on April 6, when they took an inaugural trip on the 6.1km western extension of Line A from Dejvická to Nemocnice Motol.

THE regional public transport authority of South Bohemia, Czech Republic, has awarded a 15-year regional passenger services operations contract worth Koruna 2.25bn ($US 87m) to GW Train Regio (GWTR).

CZECH Railways (CD) has awarded Škoda Transportation contracts totalling Koruna 1.1bn ($US 45m) to modernise 93 locomotive-hauled coaches for Prague – Berlin – Hamburg EuroCity services.

Czech infrastructure manager, SŽDC, has awarded Kapsch CarrierCom a contract worth €14.7m to install GSM-R on the 185km line linking the West-Bohemian cities of Beroun, Plzeň and Cheb.

POLAND's PKP Cargo signed an agreement on December 30 to acquire an 80% stake in AWT, the Czech Republic's second-largest railfreight operator, from Czech businessman Mr Zdenek Bakala and the Bakala Trust.

CZECH open-access long-distance operator RegioJet has taken delivery of the first of three Siemens Vectron locomotives, which are being leased from European Locomotive Leasing (ELL) under a five-year contract.

The test circuit at Velim in the Czech Republic has been a fixture of research, development and certification for rail vehicles and infrastructure components for more than half a century. Quintus Vosman looks at how this unique facility is adapting to meet the changing needs of the industry and the rigorous demands of modern authorisation processes.

The opening of the Czech long-distance market has resulted in a three-way battle for market share on the country's busiest inter-city line, with two new entrants vying for business with incumbent Czech Railways (CD). However with huge pressure to offer the lowest fares, ridership growth has not translated into profitability, as Keith Barrow and Quintus Vosman discover.

LATVIA Railways (LDZ) has awarded a contract to Rolls-Royce for 28 MTU engines to power 14 class 2M62U locomotives which are to be rebuilt by CZ Loco, Czech Republic.