A Pesa Elf premiere: RegioJet to begin passenger operation with new units on Sunday
The company will start with three units.
On Sunday, passengers will be able to ride the new Pesa Elf.eu multiple electric units for the first time. The Rail Authority has approved their operation with passengers. Marked as class 654, the trains will be used on routes from Ústí nad Labem to Děčín and Most. Full operation is expected in a few weeks, when all formalities have been completed.
This was confirmed by Jakub Svoboda, managing director of RegioJet, who added that three of the new units will be put into operation. The carrier will not deploy all the acquired units at once. Either these have not yet covered the required 5000 kilometers without passengers, or there are no drivers available. Due to a delay in delivery, not all drivers were authorized in time to operate the new units.
The new units will replace the class 628 units that RegioJet purchased from Deutsche Bahn on routes in the Ústí nad Labem region. They will be used on the regional U5, U7, and U13 lines and supplementary trains within the Ústí nad Labem agglomeration. The ETCS-equipped units offer second-class seats only, can accommodate a total of 154 seated passengers, and have a maximum speed of 160 km/h.
The production of the Polish units has been delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Usti nad Labem region has therefore given the carrier a year longer to deploy these trains. RegioJet has invested over EUR 20.5 million in the purchase of the units.
The 53-meter-long multi-system units allow operation under both AC and DC power systems. The units are equipped with ETCS Level 2 signaling. The new trains are green, an unusual color for RegioJet. This is a requirement of the Ústí Region but some elements on the body, including the carrier’s logo, are in yellow.
Edited and translated by Lucie Trávníčková