Regions want to buy their own trains for more than CZK 4 billion for regional transport. That should put an end to disputes with the state-run Czech Railways over the money for and the quality of regional train services. Regions are considering declaring a tender already at the beginning of next year to buy the trains within regional operational programmes.
Regional governors have agreed that all regions would proceed jointly to have a bigger chance to get money from European funds. “We want to secure modern passenger rail transport in regions with the use of European money and to solve cross-boarder transport between regions,” said Radko Martínek, deputy chairman of the regions association AKČR and governor of the Pardubice region. As a result, passengers would no longer have to change trains at regional borders.
Regions do not know yet how many and what type of trains to buy. “We really did not deal with details. There is not even any binding agreement on how much money regions would spend on the project,” said Jiří Běhounek, governor of the region Vysočina. For example, the train Desiro, the most state-of-the-art regional train in the Czech Republic, costs roughly CZK 80 million, so the CZK 4 billion would suffice to purchase some fifty such trains.
After acquiring trains, regions would most probably declare tenders for regional transport operators and then entrust the trains to the winners. The practice of some trains owned by regions and operated by another entity works for instance in Germany and Poland. Much more common is a situation where the rail transport operator owns trains, and regions only help finance their purchase.
At present, Czech Railways operates most regional rail transport for regions, even through there are also other companies providing transport on a few train routs. “If regions declare such tenders, we will definitely apply,” Czech Railways spokeswoman Petr Šťáhlavský said. “We have been offering something like that to regions for two years already, but there has not been any major response. However, we think that a more advantage model is that with operators being the owners of trains. Because a region, after it purchases a train, will have to deal with all the paperwork connected with putting the train on rails, and that costs some money,” said Šťáhlavský. “But in any case, we welcome the initiative of regions because it would be a shame not to withdraw the EU money,” he added. The project also represents a chance to operate modern regional trains, not just the upgraded Regionovas, he said.
The transport provider Student Agency will definitely be interested as well. “We are interested in regional transport even though many may think that we are not. We are interested in all subsidized routes,” the company’s owner Radim Jančura said. He also agrees with the opinion that this idea could finally bring 21st-century trains on Czech rails to replace the already mentioned Regionovas. Even though they are four times cheaper than the modern Desiro trains.
