Chinese Sirius EMU to set off on Czech railway network tomorrow
Tests on the public network are the last step towards the approval of the units in the Czech Republic.
On Monday, the Sirius electric unit from the Chinese manufacturer CRRC will travel on the Czech railway network under its own power for the first time. It has now been three years since it arrived at the Railway Research Institute (VUZ) test center in Cerhenice near Velim.
The CRRC unit passed all the necessary tests at the VUZ test track. The unit will be tested on the public network on Monday on the Prague – Usti nad Labem corridor line. The unit is due to leave Velim at 9:25 a.m. via Prague, arriving at Dolni Berkovice at 10:50 a.m. The tests will last all day.
Leo Express originally ordered the Sirius units. They arrived in the Czech Republic for tests in the fall of 2019. However, the carrier withdrew from the purchase contract this spring. The tests were significantly complicated by the coronavirus pandemic. CRRC now has two units in the Czech Republic. One in five of the components used on the train came from the Czech Republic, according to Leo Express, and the control system is also Czech. Leo Express had ordered three units, with an option for 30 more, to be used for further expansion.
Edited and translated by Lucie Trávníčková.