Twenty-five years after the introduction of 160 km/h speeds on the Czech rail network, the national operator České dráhy is celebrating a spectacular development: from eight fast trains per day in 2001 to over a thousand trains reaching this speed today. In 2025, the maximum speed limit on Czech infrastructure was raised to 200 km/h with the launch of the first commercial service at this speed.
The debut of 160 km/h in 2001
The first trains to run at 160 km/h entered service on February 17, 2001. The increase in speed was made possible by the modernization of railway corridors and international cooperation.
Slovak locomotives of the 350 series (formerly ES 499.0) were used, which underwent technical modifications, including the installation of a new safety system, a modernized speedometer, and bogie shock absorbers.
Initially, only eight express trains per day reached this speed. The trains consisted mainly of Austrian, Hungarian, and Slovak carriages, with only a few new carriages delivered for 200 km/h by the Siemens–MSV Studénka consortium on the Czech side.
Among the first accelerated services were the EuroCity “Antonín Dvořák” (Prague – Vienna), “Comenius” (Prague – Budapest), “Hungaria” (Berlin – Budapest) and the rapid “Slovenská strela” (Prague – Bratislava).
“The evolution of maximum train speeds is a clear example of the progress made by the Czech railways over the last 25 years.
While in February 2001 we reached 160 km/h for the first time with Slovak locomotives and mainly foreign carriages, today our trains and locomotives regularly run at 200 to 230 km/h on lines in Germany and Austria.
We started with just eight fast trains, and today we operate over a thousand, both on railway corridors and on other lines, for example between Pardubice and Hradec Králové or between Olomouc and Uničov. These are not only express trains, but also accelerated and local trains. In 2025, with Pendolino, we raised the maximum speed on infrastructure in the Czech Republic to 200 km/h,” said the company’s CEO, Michal Krapinec.
Steady growth over the next 15 years
Over the next 15 years, the number of trains running at 160 km/h increased to over 200, of which approximately 130 were long-distance trains and about 70 were regional trains.
During that period, České dráhy already had a more substantial fleet for these speeds: 40 locomotives, 49 electric units, and over 500 carriages approved for 160 km/h or more.
Over a thousand trains at 160 km/h and commercial debut at 200 km/h
Currently, over a thousand trains operated by the company can reach 160 km/h, about five times more than ten years ago. For international traffic, the company uses even higher-performance vehicles, up to 230 km/h, which are required for operation in Germany and Austria.
“Today we are many steps ahead. Over a thousand of our trains can reach 160 km/h. This is a huge leap forward, with about five times more trains than ten years ago. For international transport, however, we have vehicles with even higher parameters, up to 230 km/h. Without these, we would only be able to travel a few kilometers beyond the Czech borders. Thanks to the Pendolino trains, on August 31, 2025, we were also able to launch the first commercial service in the Czech Republic traveling at 200 km/h,” emphasized Jiří Ješeta, member of the Board of Directors and responsible for passenger transport.
Expanded fleet for high speeds
For speeds of 160 km/h or higher, the operator currently has over a hundred locomotives, nearly a thousand passenger cars – including non-self-propelled units – and nearly 200 electric units, totaling approximately 600 cars.
A significant portion of the rolling stock intended for international services is approved for 200 or 230 km/h, allowing operation on both modernized conventional lines and high-speed sections outside the Czech Republic.
After a quarter of a century, a speed of 160 km/h is no longer an exception but a standard for hundreds of daily trains, including regional ones. And the 200 km/h threshold marks the beginning of a new era for Czech rail transport.
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