Today I'm going to be riding on the Czech Republic's newest train,
checking out the modern and stylish new interiors,
on this country's recently introduced long-distance fleet,
as we travel along the route of the Western Express.
Hello, and welcome back to another video. Today I'm here in Prague,
at Praha hlavní nádraží and I'm going to be travelling on-board České Dráhy's newest
train - the INTERJET. I'll be riding this one out to Plzeň hlavní nádraží and I'll be travelling
in the new First Class. So, let's go! Praha hlavní nádraží is the main station
here in the Czech capital, serving as a hub for all long-distance and some regional trains.
Heading into the lower entrance to the station leads you to this modern concourse area, which to
me feels a lot like an airport, and that includes the presence of a bunch of food outlets.
The station features a large ticket office for České Dráhy, the national operator,
with some space to sit found above this. There was a spectacular LEGO® recreation of
the station building found here, with every detail faithfully represented.
My train today is number IC 562, the 12:38 to Cheb. The train is part of the 'Západní Expres',
or 'Western Express' service, operated by the national operator, České Dráhy.
With my First Class ticket, I have free access the ČD Lounge.
This offers little more than a bit of comfortable seating,
tables, nice decor, and use of the complimentary hot drinks machine or water dispenser.
Despite its basic features, I was surprised to find that I was the only person in here,
especially considering the very generous access requirements.
No visit to this station is complete without seeing the classic station building.
The Fantova Budova is an Art-Nouveau style construction, dating back to 1909.
A quick stop at the Fantova Kavárna café is a great chance
to relax in the majestic grandeur of this area.
Time to head through to the platforms, where we are met by an incredible trainshed.
The station sees an array of services from various private and national operators,
running to a large selection of destinations both domestically and internationally.
Waiting on platform one is my InterJet. It is a fixed five-car formation,
part of a fleet of ten sets built by Škoda and Siemens from 2018.
The fleet was built with compatibility in mind, being able to operate with any
standard locomotive, such as this 1987 built Škoda electric locomotive.
Each set consists of one first class carriage, and four second class carriages.
If you think that's not enough capacity, then no problem, as additional carriages can
be easily coupled to the formation. Now, you may recognise the design of
the InterJet. That's because it uses the same carriage type as the famous Railjet,
used on trains to Austria and beyond. Anyway, it's time to get on-board.
First Class is found in carriage 372, at the front of this service.
The train isn't very busy, so I chose to sit here in seat #91.
Today's route will take us from Czech's capital,
running from the main station, across the river to Smíchov, before a pleasant and
simple run through the Central Bohemian and Pilsen regions to our destination today.
Departure is on-time, as we begin to weave through Czech's capital city.
For the first minutes of the journey,
we can see some beautiful architecture here in the capital.
Shortly after, we cross over Prague's river, the Vltava.
Seven minutes of travel later, we arrive into the next station in the city: Praha-Smíchov.
This serves as our only intermediate stop, the train now running fast to Plzeň.
Time to look at the carriage here in First Class.
Firstly, the seat itself.
It looks the part, being the same seat as on many of České Dráhy's other long-distance trains.
The seat has great padding and ergonomics, leading to a really comfortable journey overall.
The padded headrest with wings is also much appreciated.
All seats get a pair of folding armrests with a good amount of padding.
For legroom, the InterJet really excels. There's loads of room to
stretch out here. I can't imagine there's many jet aircraft with this much legroom.
A folding footrest can be found on the seat in-front too.
Above this is a storage net, for smaller items.
Finally, there's a folding seatback table, which is really large.
It even comes equipped with a folding extension bracket, ideal for a laptop.
On to the recline, controlled by this lever.
It offers a great amount of recline, further improving an already great seat!
And for keeping things tidy, there's a small bin attached to the seats in front.
As a long-distance train, we pass through many smaller stations, such as Dobřichovice.
Stations like this are only served by local trains on shorter journeys, with connections to faster
trains planned in at larger stations. After departure, the conductor carries out
a ticket inspection, with a complimentary bottle of water included in First Class.
Following this, a trolley service comes through, selling well priced snacks and drinks.
We follow the course of the Berounka river, as far as its titular city of Beroun,
as well as running through the peaceful countryside and farmland.
Forty minutes into the journey and we're on the approach to Beroun. This major station is served
by local and fast trains, but InterCity trains like this one, don't make the stop here.
If you've ever got some time here, then I recommend visiting Pivovar Berounský Medvěd.
This is a pub tucked away in what seems like a scrapyard.
If you've ever wanted a nice cold Czech beer while sat next to a tank, here's your opportunity!
Anyway, time to have a look around the rest of the train.
Firstly, the toilets.
As you'd hope for a brand-new train, they were in great condition, with the soap, water,
and hand-dryer all working as expected. Moving on to the vestibule, you can find
some recycling bins, a nice touch. Into the next carriage, and you can
find the staffed Infopoint, as well as the accessible toilet, and space for wheelchairs.
Further down is the Children's Zone, featuring a mini-cinema showing cartoons.
You can also find two spaces for pushchairs. Now through to a regular Second Class carriage,
and I've got to say it seemed pretty nice, with a key benefit being the seats all lining up
with the windows. Something that you don't always see on modern trains these days.
Finally, at the very rear of the train is a bicycle storage area,
with space for eight bikes. A ticket and mandatory reservation for bike transport costs 85 CZK.
And this video would not be complete without me showing
you the fantastic view out of the back window.
Back to my seat, where there's a few more interesting details to showcase.
Firstly, the power sockets. For sets of two seats together, you can easily find the European-style
socket, USB socket, and even a wireless charging pad between seats. For single seats, then be
ready to get down on your knees, with the socket being tucked very far beneath the seat cushion.
Free and easy to connect WiFi is provided throughout the entire train.
Individual reading lights can be found above each seat...
...and each window has an adjustable window blind...
...with sliding coathooks being found just above this.
Some of these are used to store České Dráhy's on-board 'Magazin Pro Vas',
featuring some Czech railway information and of course local advertisements.
Back to the journey, and we're gracefully riding
through the hills of Central Bohemia and Pilsen regions.
A brief stop is made at Holoubkov [due to crossing with the train from the opposite direction].
We're now in the Ejpovice Tunnel. It's a shame I didn't get a shot of the entrance,
as this tunnel is the longest railway tunnel in the Czech Republic,
shaving a handy ten minutes off of journey times.
For today's journey, I paid 226 CZK for the ticket, and 35 CZK for a reservation,
leading to a total cost of 261 CZK. On this 66 mile journey, that leads to a
price per mile of about 13p, which I really have to say is great value overall.
My experience on the InterJet today was very positive, with the train being modern,
comfortable, flexible, and well adapted to the needs of a modern passenger. It makes me
really look forward to České Dráhy's upcoming international fleet, the ComfortJet, which
are to be built to a similar design overall. It's great to see railway companies designing
and operating trains like this one, with so much attention to detail,
for example the Children's cinema, ample bicycle storage, and the great window alignment.
With a couple minutes of delay, we're now on the approach to Plzeň hlavní nádraží.
The station is a Czech national heritage site, and for good reason too, with its stunning 1900s
building being a true sight to behold, though sadly this was under renovation when I visited.
Time to get off the train, which will now continue on to Cheb at the German border.
If you enjoyed this video, then you're probably going to want to check out my video on one of
Switzerland's newest trains too, with stunning scenery in the alps on offer.
Click up here to watch it, and I look forward to seeing you on my next journey!