Siemens in the fast lane

August 24, 2012 | 14:12

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German-invested Siemens Group is on track to profit from the Czech Republic.

The group’s Siemens Infrastructure & Cities has won an order from Czech State Railways Ceske Drahy to supply seven seven-car Railjet trains.

The contract is worth some 100 million Euros ($130 million) and includes the option of ordering an additional eight eight-car trains by mid-2013. The trains are scheduled for delivery from 2014.

The Czech State Railway is modernising its vehicle fleet by ordering the Intercity trains from Siemens Rail Systems. Passengers will benefit in future from modern, comfortable trains and increased services on national routes as well as cross-border mainline services to Austria and possibly other neighboring countries.

The Railjet trains reach a top speed of 230 kilometres per hour and are suitable for international high-speed operation. The technical systems are based on the tried-and-tested Intercity vehicles marketed by Siemens under the name Viaggio Comfort.

Each train has a total of 446 seats in three classes - First, Business and Economy – and offers a bistro car, a barrier-free WC for people with restricted mobility, a wheelchair lift, a small movie theater for children and room for baby buggies.

The overall length of the seven-car trains is about 185 meters. The bogies will be manufactured at the Graz factory and final assembly of the vehicles will be at the Siemens factory in Vienna.