CZECH REPUBLIC: The Plzeň region has awarded Arriva Vlaky a contract to operate Plzeň – Domažlice regional passenger service P3, replacing state-owned ČD.
The contract running for 10 years from December 2026 is valued at KC2·07bn. Arriva was the sole bidder, as ČD said it would not be able to procure suitable rolling stock to such a tight schedule.
Arriva will operate 16 pairs of trains on the 59 km route each weekday, totalling 715 000 train-km per year. Suburban services on the Plzeň – Nýřany – Stod section are to be strengthened significantly from four to 10 trains each way per day. Arriva will use 12 Stadler GTW 2/6 DMUs acquired second-hand from Hessische Landesbahn of Germany and retrofitted with ETCS, similar to these employed in the Jihomoravský region.
Arriva has been operating regional service P1 Horažďovice předměstí – Plzeň – Pňovany in the Plzeň region since December 2023, and in January it won a contract from the Ministry of Transport to operate long-distance services Ex6 Praha – Plzeň – Cheb and R16 Praha – Plzeň – Klatovy/Železná Ruda.
