CZECH REPUBLIC: RegioJet announced on November 23 that it had been selected by the Ústecký region to operate subsidised passenger services on six regional lines. The contract will run for 15 years, starting from the December 2026 timetable change.
RegioJet’s KC18·3bn offer was chosen over that of incumbent České Dráhy and a bid from Arriva. RegioJet says that its KC212·5/train-km offer was significantly lower than the KC280/train-km cost estimated by the regional authority. The deal will be signed following a 15-day standstill period if none of the losing bidders appeals.
RegioJet says that this is the largest passenger operating contract awarded through competitive tender in Czech history, accounting for 3·3 million train-km per year.
The routes covered are:
- · U1 Děčín – Ústí nad Labem – Most – Kadaň;
- · U2 Chomutov – Karlovy Vary;
- · U3 (Děčín –) Ústí nad Labem – Litvínov;
- · U32 Ústí nad Labem – Lysá nad Labem;
- · U51 Ústí nad Labem – Klášterec nad Ohří;
- · U54 (Děčín -) Ústí nad Labem – Roudnice nad Labem (– Hněvice).
ČD unhappy
Talking to local media, Jiří Ješeta, Deputy CEO of ČD, said that the national operator had submitted an objection on November 20, before the announcement of the results. He said that ČD was effectively excluded from the bidding process after the organising authority reduced its forecast cost for the package.
‘During the negotiation period, the contracting authority refused to discuss the price and, in our opinion, unlawfully prevented us from lowering our offer value during the call for final bids’, Ješeta told local press.
RegioJet on growth path
RegioJet already operates services on three other electrified routes in the Ústí nad Labem area, and it has also won a contract to operate R9 services from Praha to Brno.
‘RegioJet’s ambition is to become the largest carrier in the Czech Republic within 10 years’, said Radim Jančura, Founder & CEO of RegioJet. ‘In December, the possibility of awarding contracts without competition comes to an end in line with the European legislation.
‘This change requires that within the next 10 years, all railway services, which are now mostly operated by České Dráhy thanks to a direct contract, will be put out to competition. RegioJet currently has a 10% market share, and we aim to gain at least another 5% every year. This successful competition, which enabled the Ústecký region to save KC3·3bn, is part of this strategy.’
Pesa trains
RegioJet says the procurement process did not require the deployment of new trains, but nevertheless it intends to procure 23 Pesa Elf.eu EMUs for use on the various routes it has won. It is already operating seven two-car Elf.eu EMUs in the Ústecký region, and seven more three-car sets are on order for Praha cross-city services S49 and S61.
‘Until now, we were forced to buy mainly older trains for economic reasons, but from this year we have a strategy to purchase only new trains’, Jančura explained.
