CZECH REPUBLIC: The city of Praha has awarded RegioJet a 15-year contract to operate cross-city services S49 and S61 from December 2024.
The municipality will pay KC162·34m/year
RegioJet’s bid was priced at KC215·5 per train-km, beating Arriva and incumbent national operator ČD.
S49 from Hostivař to Roztoky u Prahy via Libeň and Holešovice has been operated by Arriva since December 2018, mostly using Class 845 (ex DB Class 628) DMUs.
The new S61 route from Vršovice to Běchovice via Zahradní Město and Malešice will be introduced in December 2024, including new stations at Hostavice, Jahodnice, Jiráskova čtvrť and Depo Hostivař.
RegioJet will operate the services with a fleet of seven new 3 kV DC/25 kV 50 Hz low-floor air-conditioned EMUs with a minimum capacity of 240 seats, which will be fitted with ETCS.
Services will run half-hourly on weekdays and hourly at weekends, and may be extended to Říčany, Smíchov or Úvaly in future.
