Trains and other things: Katowice, Břeclav, Brno

After 3 days in Poland, it is time to move to the next country, which will be Czechia, and the town Brno. My original plan was to take local train from Wroclaw to Lichkov, then Usti nad Orlici and finally Brno. But due to railway works, part of the trip would use replacement bus which I'm trying to avoid. So, the new itinerary was to go through Katowice and Breclav.

Wroclaw Glowny

Polregio train to Poznan

Newag Impuls train operated by Koleje Dolnośląskie. 31WE has four coaches

36WE has three coaches

EN71 to Zielona Gora

My first train today is a TLK service to Katowice

TLK offers cheaper service than regular IC due to non air conditioned coaches and no dining coach. Here are B10ou (type 111A) and A9nou (type 112A)

No air condition, but on the other hand the windows can be opened (which is good for taking photos).

DB Class 628

EU07E-082 from 1969 operated by Majkoltrans Sp.z o.o.- Wrocław

1st class compartment

I'm taking railway line nr 132 between Bytom and Wroclaw. Between Opole and Wroclaw, this line is part of the E 30 line - a line belonging to the III Pan-European Transport Corridor connecting Germany, Poland and Ukraine.

By 2011 the Wrocław - Opole section was modernized to 160 km/h for passenger trains.

Brzeg. The station is one of the oldest in Poland, it was built in 1869–1870, and it is a heritage listed building.

British Rail Class 66 (66016) operated by Freightliner PL Sp. z o.o.

Losiow

EN57

Lewin Brzeski

ŁTZ M62 - a Soviet built diesel locomotive

Opole Power Plant

Oder river

Cathedral Basilica of the Holy Cross in Opole

In Opole there is a railway junction, railway nr 132 continues to the right, while railway nr 144 is to the left.

Station building is from 1899

EN57 and 36WE (Impuls)

The part of railway nr132 between Opole - Paczyna has maximum speed of 120km/h

Strzelce Opolskie

Railway museum in Pyskowice

Gliwice Łabędy

Gliwice is a city in Upper Silesia, near Katowice. Gliwice is the west district of the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union – a metropolis with a population of 2 million.

Gliwice Railway Station which is the second largest train station in the Upper Silesian conurbation.

From Gliwice, our train is taking railway line nr 137 - railway line linking Katowice and Legnica

Zabrze

Passing by Chebzie. Here is a tram type SGP / Lohner E1 (Previously used in Vienna). The system of trams in Upper Silesian Conurbation is one of the largest tram systems in the world, has been in existence since 1894.

Arriving to Katowice

36 WE EMU operated by Koleje Małopolskie

The train is bound for Krakow. Last summer I was taking the route Katowice-Krakow it was an old EN57 from 1971 but it seems that this year it's much more modern, even though the travel time is more or less unchanged, about 2h.

TLK train has arrived to Katowice

Pesa Elf EMU

Koleje Śląskie is operating the route Katowice-Gliwice

3 Maja street, named after the day of the declaration of the Constitution of May 3, 1791.

Stawowa street

Pesa Dart on route IC 14153 INKA from Warszawa to Zwardoń

Flirt, EN75

Pesa Dart operates on following routes

In 2016 the train received iF design award

Only 5 min after Pesa Dart train left to Zwardon, a regional train to same destination operated by Koleje Śląskie.

"Os" train is a local train stopping at every stop. In Polish "Pociąg osobowy"

My next train is an Eurocity service from Warszawa to Budapest

Operated with EP09-015 locomotive until Bohumin in Czechia

The coaches are from Hungarian company MAV Start

1st class compartment

Katowice Ligota station along railway nr 139 Katowice - Skalité Serafínov which is part of the E 65 railway line that belongs to the 6th European Transport Corridor linking the Baltic states with countries situated on the Adriatic Sea and in the Balkans.

Newag Dragon

Avmz coach from 1998 manufactured by DWA Dunakeszi

ET41-130-B

ET41-054-A

Restaurant coach WRmz

Decoration at the dining coach

Lunch, chicken with pasta

Border station Zebrzydowice, until 2007 there was border check here.

Shortly after we are in Czechia

ČD Class 471 "CityElefant"

ČD Class 150 manufactured in 1978

Bohumin

Time to change locomotives. Both Poland and north part of Czech republic are using 3kV DC power system, but as the train continues south to Hungary the locomotive has to support 25kV AC.

PKP class EP09 from Pafawag supports 3kV DC only

This locomotive is from 1992

ČD Class 380 from Škoda Transportation (Škoda 109E) supports both 3kV DC, 25kV AC and 15kV AC

2nd class compartment, coach type Bvmz

2nd class open seat coach, type Bpmz

ČD Class 363

ČD Class 130

Another Eurocity train, this one from Hungary to Poland

Water refill at Ostrava

ČD Class 130

Leaving Ostrava

Veolia power plant at Ostrava. Veolia transportation changed name to Transdev for railway operations (e.g. Snälltåget) in 2011.

Eurosprinter

CityElefant at Ostrava-Svinov

ZSSK Class 162

Siemens ES 64 U4

Regional train to Bohumin at Hranice na Moravě

Seems that there are not enough seats in 2nd class

ČD Class 130

Our train is taking railway line nr 270 until Prerov. The line stretches from Česká Třebová - Přerov - Bohumín and is one of the most important in the country. It has speed limit of 160km/h

From Prerov we are taking railway line 330 Přerov–Břeclav. The line was electrified in the years 1981-1985, and there are two traction systems 3kV DC and 25kV AC power, which is switching at Nedakonice. Southern parts of Czech railways have 25kV AC while northern parts have 3kV DC. Here on the photo is EMU Class 460

Siemens Vectron MS for PKP Cargo

Hulín

Otrokovice

Napajedla

ČD Class 151

Staré Město u Uh. Hradiště

Billboard for RegioJet company which is a Czech open access passenger railway company founded in 2009. Later in Breclav I will spot one of RegioJet trains.

ČD Class 814 DMU, branded as "Regionova"

ČD Class 750

Bombardier Traxx F140 MS from Railpool, hired to IDS CARGO, a.s., Olomouc [CZ]

Siemens ES 64 F4 from DB Cargo Germany AG [D]

ČD Class 230 is an alternating current (25 kV, 50 Hz) electric locomotive

Siemens ES 64 U4 from ÖBB

ČD Class 363 operating both with 3kV DC and 25kV AC

The train has arrived to Breclav which is the last stop in Czechia before entering Austria or Hungary

From Breclav there are local trains operating to Austria

Eurocity continues to Budapest

Railjet service arriving from Austria

For my next trip to Brno, I was proposed to take this train, but due to railway works it would not stop at the central station in Brno, so I decided to take another train directly to the center.

The border line between Braclav and Hohenau (in Austria) will be equipped with ETCS Level 2. Since October 2014, the train control system ETCS Level 2 has been in operation between Wien Süßenbrunn and Bernhardsthal (the line that is called Nordbahn).

Main hall in Breclav. Regiojet info is available here.

Regional push pull train with Ccontrol cab Bfhpvee 295 ČD to Prerov

The train is hauled by this ČD Class 362. The difference between Class 363 and 362 is the max speed of 120km/h for 363 and 140km/h for 362.

ČD Class 242 is a 25kV locomotive with max speed of 120km/h

Another 242

Vectron for PKP Cargo

Vectrol for ELL, leased to Lokotrain

Countries approved for

Class 362

Class 242 for Ids-Cargo

My next and last train for today is ČD Class 660, which is an EMU Škoda 7Ev. The trainset was developed at the order of the České dráhy in 2011. Multiple variants of unit were developed, ranging from 2-car unit to 6-car unit.

The train has both 1st and 2nd class

In the Czech Republic are trainsets known as RegioPanter. The maximum speed is 160 km/h

Just before my departure, an RegioJet train is arriving. This route is between Bratislava and Prague. RegioJet is owned by "Student Agency" which is a Czech travel agency whose main focuses are on au-pair programmes, resale of airline tickets and bus transport. It is one of the two open access train companies in Czechia, the other one is LeoExpress. According to Wikipedia, Sweden has 4 open access companies (brands): Blå tåget, MTR Express, Tågab and Snälltåget.

On this route RegioJet is using leased Vectron from ELL.

RegioJet is indeed a low cost service, it is possible to travel between Prague and Bratislava for as little as 10€ at the "low-cost" coach. It is explained as "Without catering, without steward/ess, openspace carriage, the lowest price guaranteed, free Rajec water, plush non-adjustable seats." For 12,5€ it is possible to travel in "Standard" coach which has: "Full service, compartment for 6 people, plush or leather seats. Possibility to choose Astra car: modern openspace car, built-in multimedia screen in seats or spaceous tables." There are also more expensive "Relax" and "Business" options.

Good bye Railjet...

Back to my Škoda train. It has space for bicycles

Zaječí

Class 809 car. It has 28 seats

BDtax 782 ČD Coach

Šakvice

Arriving to Brno

ČD Class 754

RegioPanter at Brno

The line R13 Brno-Breclav-Olomouc was partially financed by EU

Brno hlavní nádraží is the second largest station in Czechia. It is one of the oldest railway stations in the Czech Republic, having been in operation since 1839.