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RegioJet

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RegioJet a.s.
Company typeJoint-stock company
Industryrail transport Edit this on Wikidata
Founded2009[1]
Headquarters
Brno
,
Czech Republic
Area served
Czech Republic, Slovakia
Key people
Radim Jančura,
Jiří Schmidt
ServicesRail passenger transport
RevenueIncrease 719 mil. Kč (2015)[2]
−5,696,000 Czech koruna (2016) Edit this on Wikidata
Increase 35 mil. Kč (2015)[2]
Total assetsIncrease 807 mil. Kč (2015)[2]
Total equityIncrease 216 mil. Kč (2015)[2]
Number of employees
Increase 359 (2015)[2]
ParentRegioJet holding Edit this on Wikidata
WebsiteRegioJet.com

RegioJet a.s. (VKM: RJ)[3] is a private Czech provider of passenger rail and bus transport. The company Student Agency, owned by Radim Jančura, is the 100% owner. The company's registered office is in Brno.

The sister company of the same name, RegioJet a. s., with its registered office in Bratislava is an operator of passenger rail and bus transport in the Slovak Republic.

The company started to operate regular bus transport under the brand Student Agency in 2004; occasional public rail transport was operated for the first time on 24 April 2010. The operation of the first railway line of regular passenger transport was started on 26 September 2011.

The company operates bus routes around the Czech and Slovak Republics and to another 90 cities throughout Europe.[4]

The history of Student Agency and RegioJet

RegioJet a.s. is a part of the company Student Agency, which has operated as Student Agency, s. r. o. since 1996. In the beginning, the company Student Agency dealt with mediating au-pair stays for students from the Czech Republic, later extending its sphere of activities to include:

• mediating language study programmes abroad (1996)

• mediating work programmes (1996)

• regular domestic bus transport (2004)

• sale of air tickets (2000)

• sale of tours and holidays (2010)

Within the transport field, the company Student Agency operated international bus transport in the beginning; nevertheless, since 2004 the company has started with regular domestic lines.

In 2006, Mr Radim Jančura expressed in several interviews his intention to extend Student Agency's bus transport within 3 years and to also become a provider of rail.

The company RegioJet a.s. was incorporated in the Companies Register on 20 March 2009 with the subject of enterprise “production, business and services not stated in attachments 1 to 3 of the Trade Licensing Act” and on 6 October 2009 the subject of activity “operator of railway and railway transport” was registered. The sister company of the same name, RegioJet a.s., with its registered office in Bratislava was established in 2010 and is nowadays an operator of rail and bus transport in the Slovak Republic.

In 2016, bus transport, by then operating under the Student Agency brand, was included under the RegioJet brand.

Bus transport

In the beginning, Student Agency operated international bus transport – the first line was from Prague to London, and in the following years the buses went on to other European countries, including cities in Germany, Switzerland, Benelux, lines connecting the Czech Republic with cities in Sweden, Norway, Italy, Hungary, Austria and the Slovak Republic, and later in France and even more countries.[5][6]

Since 2004, the company Student Agency has operated as a transporter on domestic lines in the Czech Republic. Within the Czech Republic, yellow buses started on the route Prague - Brno for the first time in January 2004, and other lines soon followed. The lines of these yellow buses connected Prague and Brno with three dozen cities in the Czech Republic.

On 24 February 2006, Student Agency received recognition from the TTG Travel Awards of 2005: first place in the categories “Best flight (IATA) agency in the Czech Republic” and “Best bus transporter”.

On 4 April 2016, the rebranding of bus transport was started in the Czech Republic.[7] The decision to include bus transport under the marketing brand RegioJet, which was originally used only for rail transport, originated especially because of the company's interest to unify all transport activities under one brand and also because of the lack of understanding especially for foreign clients – the history of Jančura's company is not as well known abroad, so the name appeared to be incomprehensible and impractical for a transport company.[8][9]

The Slovak company RegioJet had started to operate bus transport under the brand RegioJet even earlier, since February 2015.

Connection map for long-distance trains. RegioJet services shown in yellow-gold.

Rail transport

In 2006, Student Agency began to think about operating rail transport. The first intention was to start with trains on the Prague-Ostrava route which would compete with the EC/IC trains and SC Pendolino from České dráhy.[10] In June 2007, Mr Radim Jančura announced that a tender procedure for a producer was underway. The transport was meant to be cheaper and more luxurious than the Pendolino from České dráhy, with a design resembling the ICE 3 trains operating in Germany.

In March 2009, the subsidiary company RegioJet a.s. was incorporated. The first train started on 24 April 2010 within the advertising event Žluté jaro na železnici (“Yellow spring on the railway”). The price of a return ticket between any stations was a symbolic CZK 5. This advertising operation was described by a representative of the company as the following: “We want to show how modern vehicles can contribute to the simplification and improvement of transport service”.[11]

In the following years, the company participated in selection procedures, submitted offers for operating subsidised transport to various regions and the Ministry of Transport and negotiated with these regions.

Lines with the regular operation of rail transport

Prague – Ostrava – Havířov – Žilina (SK) – Košice (SK) – Humenné (SK) Route

Since 26 September 2011, RegioJet has operated, at its own business risk, regular rail transport without an order from the Ministry of Transport, only receiving compensation for student and senior discounts from public funds.[12] The beginning of the operation was accompanied by great media coverage.

The company started with three pairs of lines between Prague and Havířov, and in December 2011 the trains also began operating in a regular two-hour interval to other stations in the Ostrava Region (Český Těšín, Třinec) and one pair of lines started to make its way to Žilina.

On 29 September 2011, České dráhy within the campaign ČD Promo reduced some relations, especially the full fare on the routes between Prague–Ostrava, Prague–Brno and Prague – Hradec Králové. The new fare price between Prague and Ostrava was similar to the price set by RegioJet. RegioJet spokesman Aleš Ondrůj declared this step as unfair competition and a misuse of the dominant position of České dráhy on the market.[13]

In December 2012, RegioJet announced a CZK 30 – 50 mil loss for 2012, which was justified according to the “predatory pricing” by České dráhy on the route between Prague-Ostrava.[14] Train occupancy was approximately 80%.[15] RegioJet blamed the pricing policy of České dráhy for its negative business results, and after raising a challenge before the Antitrust Authority, RegioJet decided to challenge České dráhy before the Court for this connection. The losses would be covered from other activities, as the whole Student Agency group showed gains of CZK 110 mil at earnings over CZK 1.6 billion.[16][17]

Since October 2014, the transporter has introduced a line on the Prague-Košice route, and in December 2015 the operation was enlarged and sleeping cars were added.[18][19]

Bratislava (SK) – Dunajská Streda (SK) – Komárno (SK) Route

On 27 December 2010, RegioJet acquired a nine-year contract with the Ministry of Transport of the Slovak Republic to operate subsidised rail transport on the route between Bratislava – Dunajská Streda – Komárno with the beginning of the operation on 4 March 2012. Before commencing the transportation on this route, RegioJet reportedly invested approximately €60 thousand into the “modernisation of stop furniture and strengthening safety elements”.[20]

Prague – Brno – Bratislava (SK) Route

Since 11 December 2016, the company has launched trains on the Prague – Brno – Bratislava route. At present (since 2 September 2018), RegioJet trains go 4 times a day to Bratislava, and the other two lines on this route ensure transportation with the terminal in Brno.

Prague - Brno – Vienna (AT)

Since December 2017, the transporter has started to cooperate with Graz-Köflacher Bahn und Busbetrieb and operates four pairs of trains from Prague through Brno to Vienna. The trains end at the Vienna Main Station and stop at Wien Simmering en route to the Austrian territory.[21]

Ústí nad Labem services

From December 2019, Regiojet will take over the 10 year tender for services U5, U7 and U13 in the Ústí nad Labem Region.[22]

RegioJet bus and train fleet

The transporter introduced itself as an operator of higher-class transport. The transporter launched services on its lines which were not yet common in the Czech Republic – daily newspaper and magazines were offered to the passengers en route, and the ticket included coffee or other hot beverages which are offered by a steward or stewardess. From the beginning, the transporter invested into having a modern fleet.

Buses

In the early stages, during the transporter's time as Student Agency, the bus transport was ensured by vehicles of Spanish production of the brand Ayats Atlantis on the MAN chassis. Afterwards, the company started to use Spanish Beulas buses on the Scania and Volvo chassis. In 2006, the company further invested into five Mercedes-Benz Travego buses, especially for the lines heading to Vienna.

In 2012, the fleet owned by the company amounted to approximately 110 buses, out of which 5 were of a white colour, as the company operated them on the routes between Prague – Nuremberg and Prague – Munich on behalf Deutsche Bahn, while the paint for other vehicles was done in a noticeable yellow colour.

In 2013, the number increased to 152 buses. The most represented type was the Spanish Irizar PB on the Scania or Volvo chassis – the company owned 93 of them, out of which 67 were equipped with Fun & Relax equipment.

45 super modern Irizar i8 buses of the newest generation arrived as part of the company's fleet in April 2016. The first of these buses were introduced on the route between Prague – Dresden – Berlin. The number of buses operating under the brand RegioJet grew to reach 210.[7]

Train sets

Locomotives

In May 2010, the purchase of nine electric E 163 locomotives from the producer Škoda Plzeň was announced.[23] They were sold to Ferrovie Nord Milano in the 1990s and modified according to the conditions of the Italian market. After the purchase, the locomotives were modified for operation in the Czech Republic; their gear ratio was changed in order to increase the maximum speed of 140 km/h.[23][24]

The newest additions to the yellow train fleet are four Traxx locomotives from the Canadian producer Bombardier – they were put into service in the middle of 2018.[25]

Coaches

All of the transporter's coaches have the corporate yellow outer paint and blue-red logo of the name REGIOJET. In addition, there is a label for the class, respective fares and pictograms of the offered services close to the entrance door.

In June 2011, RegioJet purchased 14 used coaches from Austrian Federal Railways, which were earlier reconstructed to reach speeds of 200 km/h and disposed of AC, vacuum toilets and electric drawers. These coaches underwent a complete interior adjustment.[26] Another 14 coaches were purchased in July 2011.[27] All coaches (12 ABmz 61 81 30-90 coaches, 8 Ampz 61 81 18-91 coaches, 8 Bmz 61 81 21-90 coaches) were marked as second class by RegioJet, although for ÖBB these coaches and parts of the coaches of class A served as first class.[28]

It was reported that in January 2014, RegioJet purchased another 45 coaches of the same series from ÖBB, with 27 of them as first class coaches.

In September 2014, the Slovak company Molpir, the supplier of FUNTORO on-board entertainment system, introduced a high-capacity coach for RegioJet from the Romanian Train Coaches company Astra Vagoane Călători at the Innotrans fair in Berlin. The coach originated under cooperation with the interior studio Flagu-Coplass and architect Patrik Kotas. The coaches have seats from the German company Grammer and feature a TV screen for each seat. Each coach costs approximately €1 mil. 10 coaches were ordered in total, and they should be put into operation in the coming months.

At the end of 2017, the transporter purchased 6 coaches from the bankrupt transporter Arena Ways – they were produced in 2010 and they served for several months in Italy before their takeover by RegioJet. The company ordered another 10 Astra coaches from the Romanian producer. The first one was taken over at the turn of the year.[29]

Rolling stock

RegioJet uses 9 3-coach Bombardier Talent DMUs in Slovakia.[30] It has also bought 9 Škoda Class E630 electric locomotives from Ferrovie Nord Milano.[31] The company purchased[32][33] passenger cars of classes ABmz 30-70 (12 pcs), Ampz 18-91 (8 pcs) and Bmz 21-70 (6 pcs) from Austrian Federal Railways. They were transported to the Czech Republic in early June 2011 and late July 2011, going into service in September 2011. These passenger cars undergo maintenance in the METRANS DYKO Rail Repair Shop in Kolín and are painted by OLPAS Moravia in Krnov.[34]

Table of Regiojet's Rolling stock
Class Type Picture Nickname Production Builder Note Route
162 98E Peršing (Persing) 1984–1992 Škoda Works Bought from Italy and rebuilt from class 163 to 162 to increase maximum speed Praha - Pardubice - Ostrava - Žilina - Košice
193(D) Vectron Garfield 2010–present Siemens Leased from ELL Bratislava - Košice,
Praha - Pardubice - Ostrava - Žilina - Košice
386 TRAXX TRAXX 2018 Bombardier Transportation Praha - Vienna,
Praha - Pardubice - Ostrava - Žilina - Košice
642(D) Desiro Siemens from leasing company Bratislava - Dunajská Streda - Komárno
643(D) Talent 1994–present Bombardier Bratislava - Dunajská Streda - Komárno
721 T 458.1 Velký Hektor (Big Hector) 1961 - 1971 ČKD Only 721.151, repair in Nymburk In depot of RJ -> Prague

Train fares

In the beginning, the transporter did not differentiate between classes, as the places in all coaches were sold as a second class for the same price. Afterwards the transporter introduced four tariff zones on its commercial lines – the first and second tariff zone in two classes:

  • Low cost – without any service: second class with a reduced fare (not guaranteed for all lines), open space coach, no drawers, bottled water is included in the fare price and a daily newspaper is available.
  • Standard: second class – 6-person compartment, possibility of having a compartment for children and a quiet zone compartment, possibility of utilising the Astra coach with an entertainment programme in the in-built screens in each seat
  • Relax: second class – open space coach, possibility for separate seats, large tables.

In the Standard and Relax second classes, the passengers receive a daily newspaper and magazines, coffee and bottled water for free and at the same time they may order other paid snack items from the on-board menu.

  • Business: first class – compartment for 4 persons, possibility of a quiet zone compartment, daily newspaper and economic magazines for free as well as coffee, cookies, high-quality teas, orange juice or Bohemia Sekt (sparkling wine).

An Internet connection is available for free and the option to book a concrete seat is available for all classes.

References

  1. ^ Commercial register at justice.cz, identification number (IČ) 28333187
  2. ^ a b c d e Annual report of RegioJet, a.s. for calendar year 2015
  3. ^ "Vehicle Keeper Marking Register (VKM)". European Union Agency for Railways. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  4. ^ "RADIM JANČURA oficiálně představil novou marketingovou značku RegioJet". BUSportal. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  5. ^ "Připravované mezinárodní linky Student Agency na rok 2008". BUSportal. Retrieved 4 September 2007.
  6. ^ "Vyhledání podle dopravců, Student Agency k.s". portál IDOS. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  7. ^ a b "RADIM JANČURA oficiálně představil novou marketingovou značku RegioJet". BUSportál. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  8. ^ "Značka Student Agency u autobusů končí, Jančura mění název na RegioJet". E15.
  9. ^ "Slavné autobusy Student Agency skončí. Jančura je přejmenuje na RegioJet". Lidovky. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  10. ^ "Jančura: Náš vlak bude hezčí než pendolino". idnes. Retrieved 7 April 2006.
  11. ^ "Žluté vlaky vyjedou poprvé na kozí dráhu. Za pětikorunu". idos. Retrieved 12 April 2010.
  12. ^ "Stát zavedením konkurence ČD neušetří. Slevy musí proplácet všem". idnes. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  13. ^ "České dráhy výrazně zlevnily, srovnaly ceny s RegioJetem". iDnes. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
  14. ^ "České dráhy výrazně zlevnily, srovnaly ceny s RegioJetem". zpravy.tiscali.cz. Retrieved 9 December 2012.
  15. ^ "Tři dopravci se na trati Praha Ostrava nemohou udržet, míní Jančura". Novinky.cz. Retrieved 9 December 2012.
  16. ^ "RegioJet loni prohloubil ztrátu na 76 milionů korun". Deník.cz. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  17. ^ "RegioJet bude žalovat ČD kvůli nízkým cenám o 270 mil. Kč". zpravy.tiscali.cz. Retrieved 23 August 2013.
  18. ^ [1] Archived 23 November 2015 at the Wayback Machine, Noční vlaky RegioJet mezi Prahou a Košicemi využilo za první čtvrtletí provozu téměř 43 tisíc cestujících, Regiojet, 22 January 2010
  19. ^ "RegioJet posílí své vlakové spoje z Prahy do Košic. Příští rok chce počet cestujících zdvojnásobit". byznys.iHned.cz. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  20. ^ "RegioJet investoval 60 tisíc EUR do modernizace zastávek na trati Bratislava – Dunajská Streda". Student Agency. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
  21. ^ "Z Prahy a Brna do Vídně vlaky RegioJet". RegioJet. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
  22. ^ Sůra, Jan (13 July 2019). "Místo žlutých vlaků zelené. RegioJet ukázal podobu souprav pro Ústecký kraj". zdopravy.cz. Archived from the original on 14 July 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  23. ^ a b "Jančura koupil devět lokomotiv, od března chce konkurovat drahám". ekonomika.idnes.cz. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
  24. ^ "RegioJet koupil 9 peršingů a chystá komerční spoje". ŽelPage. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  25. ^ "VIDEO: RegioJet představil nové lokomotivy, mají vozit osmnáctivozové vlaky". ekonomika.idnes.cz. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  26. ^ "Jančura má v Česku první vagony: ojeté z Rakouska". ekonomika.idnes.cz. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
  27. ^ "Jančura by vás vozil Hurvínkem, straší kraj cestující. Další tendry na železnici neplánuje". byznys.ihned.cz. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
  28. ^ "vagonWEB". Osobní vozy RegioJet. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
  29. ^ "RegioJet nakoupil další vozy v Itálii, přestaví je v Rumunsku". zdopravy.cz. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
  30. ^ "Slovensko je pre RegioJet skúškou". ekonomika.sme.sk. Retrieved 13 February 2011.
  31. ^ "Railway Gazette: RegioJet launches its yellow spring trains". Retrieved 13 February 2011.
  32. ^ "ÖBB rozdaly karty: ojetiny pro ČD i RegioJet dorazily do Česka". ŽelPage. Retrieved 5 June 2011.
  33. ^ "ÖBB passenger cars for RegioJet delivered on June 5, 2011".
  34. ^ Jan Sůra, České koleje zežloutly. Jančurův vlak poprvé vyjel, iDNES, 25. srpna 2011
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