PKP Intercity completed three days of dynamic testing of its ED250 Pendolino high-speed train on Czech infrastructure, wrapping up the programme on 22 October 2025. The trials—conducted in cooperation with state operator České dráhy between Bohumín and Přerov—verified signalling compatibility and energy-system transitions ahead of proposed Warsaw–Brno and Kraków–Prague commercial services.
Although the Pendolino fleet has held Czech safety certification since 2022, PKP Intercity needs additional on-track evidence to satisfy the Czech Transport Authority’s updated TSI 2023 interoperability rules. Engineers focused on ETCS baseline 3 functionality, regenerative-braking performance under 25 kV AC, and emergency-communication protocols with Czech Railways’ traffic-management centre. No anomalies were reported.
Business-travel stakeholders welcome the prospect of faster rail links that could cut Warsaw–Brno journey times to under four hours, rivalling air plus ground transfers. Czech hotel group CPI estimates that a daily Kraków–Prague service could generate an additional 50,000 overnight stays per year, boosting MICE activity.
PKP Intercity plans longer endurance runs in Q1 2026 and hopes to launch the first cross-border timetable in the December 2026 EU schedule change, subject to bilateral path agreements and subsidy approvals.
The tests come amid wider Central-European rail liberalisation, with České dráhy also trialling ComfortJet rakes for Austrian routes.
Although the Pendolino fleet has held Czech safety certification since 2022, PKP Intercity needs additional on-track evidence to satisfy the Czech Transport Authority’s updated TSI 2023 interoperability rules. Engineers focused on ETCS baseline 3 functionality, regenerative-braking performance under 25 kV AC, and emergency-communication protocols with Czech Railways’ traffic-management centre. No anomalies were reported.
Business-travel stakeholders welcome the prospect of faster rail links that could cut Warsaw–Brno journey times to under four hours, rivalling air plus ground transfers. Czech hotel group CPI estimates that a daily Kraków–Prague service could generate an additional 50,000 overnight stays per year, boosting MICE activity.
PKP Intercity plans longer endurance runs in Q1 2026 and hopes to launch the first cross-border timetable in the December 2026 EU schedule change, subject to bilateral path agreements and subsidy approvals.
The tests come amid wider Central-European rail liberalisation, with České dráhy also trialling ComfortJet rakes for Austrian routes.
