RegioJet has been able to maintain most of its train services smoothly during the icy weather conditions in the Czech Republic over the last 48 hours. Thanks to extensive preparations and strategic measures, most trains ran on schedule or with minor delays. Only train RJ 1047 on the Prague-Bratislava route had to be replaced by buses on the Brno-Bratislava section.
To ensure operations, RegioJet had positioned five diesel locomotives as reserves at critical points. These were used in four cases to pass critical sections despite icy conditions. Night connections, such as those to and from Košice, experienced delays of up to two hours. The company's control room was reinforced with additional staff during this time, and alternative bus transport was ready to be used at short notice.
RegioJet also showed cooperation towards other railway operators: diesel locomotives were made available to the state infrastructure manager SŽ to support traffic on foreign routes. Transport Minister Martin Kupka had previously called for a joint strategy between railway operators and infrastructure management to increase resilience in the event of extreme weather events. Although concrete measures from SŽ are still pending, RegioJet took on a pioneering role and offered support.
The experience with the weather conditions underlines the need for long-term solutions. Minister Kupka plans to improve coordination and the provision of replacement capacities in the future. RegioJet assesses the initiative positively and sees it as an important step towards a more stable railway infrastructure in similar extreme situations.