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Czech republic - off the rails
High-speed rail service temporarily derailed
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After a decade, Ceske drahy has finally managed to get its hands on high-speed Pendolino trains, but network incompatibility prevents the national rail operator from using them.
It hasn't been easy for Ceske drahy, or Czech Railways, to put tilting trains on track, though fast and efficient rail travel is just what the European Commission has been pushing for as an alternative to increasing road traffic in the enlarged Europe.
Interoperability, or the ability to run a train on different rail networks, tops the agenda of European rail transport officials as the European Commission drafts a sustainable and integrated European-wide rail system.
With deregulation of Europe's passenger-rail system six years away, Czech Railways, whose passenger numbers dropped from 183 million in 2000 to 172 million last year, needs to revamp its image if it doesn't want German and Austrian trains to steal domestic traffic.
Czech Railways is aging: The average age of the railway's rolling stock is 25 years old and the last major modernization took place in the late 1980s.
High-speed Pendolino trains on key transnational routes could give Czech Railways the push it needs to remain competitive. But bad luck coupled with outdated technology has prevented Czech Railways from operating those trains.
Czech Railways has been struggling for 10 years to improve service between Berlin, Prague and Vienna. "It's been a very lengthy process with many problems," said Antonin Blazek, an expert adviser responsible for integrating Pendolino trains for Czech Railways.
In a move to anticipate European transport policies, the Czech Transport Ministry decided to spend 10.1 billion Kc ($414 million) to acquire seven modern trains in 1994 for the routes to Berlin and Vienna-Bratislava. Pendolino tilting trains, then a new technology capable of speeds 30 percent higher than conventional rolling stock but still compatible with existing rail lines, proved to be the most effective on the hilly Czech terrain.
A consortium made up of CKD Praha, Siemens and Fiat was asked in 1996 to manufacture seven Pendolinos, but work stopped two years later when CKD Praha, the consortium's main leader, went out of business. The project was put off until 2000, when new management at Czech Railways prioritized pan-European rail travel. The tender went to Fiat, until French train manufacturer Alstom bought the Italian company in 2002. Last March, Czech Railways received the first of its tilting trains from Alstom's Savigliano branch and two other trains followed shortly after.
The trains, equipped with the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS), are able to run on three power-supply voltages (German, Czech and Austrian), and are Europe's most modern tilting trains. But there's one little problem: They are incompatible with the Czech signaling system.
During preliminary tests, the Railway Infastructure Administration, which administers the country's railways, pointed out that the trains did not meet Czech norms for the electric reverse-current, among the lowest in Europe.
"Our system is very sensitive," Blazek said, "and Alstom didn't take that into account. They had supposed everything would be all right but they were wrong. We are waiting for Alstom to fix its mistakes."
Blaming Alstom, who incurred most of the testing costs, doesn't explain it all. When the initial contracts were signed 10 years ago, specifications for the trains and technical requirements were different than they are today, especially regarding interoperability. The trains were manufactured using outdated technical documentation and won't be operational until the compatibility problem has been solved, said Jaromir Pernicka, editor-in-chief of the Prague-based rail magazine Railvolution. As it is now, the track's reverse current interferes with the trains' operation.
Czech Railways now has to keep the three trains it purchased for 4.4 billion Kc stranded outside Prague while the remaining four are still in Alstom's Savigliano factory. Attempts to get the Class 680 Pendolinos on track has been ongoing for more than a year. "We will pay for the other four once the problem is solved. That's our only condition," Blazek said, speaking of the 5.7 billion Kc still owed.
In a lengthy and expensive procedure, Czech Railways, Alstom and AZK Praha, a company specializing in signaling systems, are working out the technical difficulties. In recent months, three tests have been approved by the rail authority and Czech Railways is now testing the trains at 220 kilometers per hour (137 miles per hour) between Brno and Breclav, a paradox since passenger speed is limited to 160 kilometers per hour on the Czech network.
Next month, Czech Railways plans to test the trains with passengers on board between Prague and Decin, on the Czech-German border. Blazek estimates travel time, currently an hour and a half, to be reduced by 15 minutes thanks to the tilting technology.
The trains may run next year, but probably at slower speeds than they're capable of and comfort levels will not meet standards set by UK Virgin or Spanish Renfe Pendolino trains.
"Full authorization of the international operation of the 680s is still a long way off but there are hopes all may be complete by spring 2005," said Pernicka.
Czech Railways will then face the challenge of attracting customers away from the highway and the airport and of creating a vital link in European rail transport. "Not a problem," Blazek said. "We will plan a big marketing offensive." With track construction under way between Dresden and Decin and some needed improvements on the Czech rail network, travel time between Prague and Berlin could ultimately be reduced to three hours, down from four hours and 40 minutes today.
It remains unclear how Czech Railways will market this new service and entice enough passengers to ride a more efficient railway to make it worth the expense, but the promise of high-speed rail travel between Central Europe's three big capitals is enticing.
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| taken from: The Prague Post online, 11. Nov. 2004 |
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