Pendolino Preparations For Praha To Košice service

In response to both Czech open access operators deciding to establish services between Praha and Košice in eastern Slovakia, ČD decided to replace its only daytime locomotive-hauled train on this route by a Class 680 Pendolino service. Preparations for this included subjecting 680.004 to some EMC measurement tests in Slovakia. These were realised at the two places habitually used for this purpose with modern electric locomotives, near Skalité on the single track international line between Čadca and Zwardoń, and near Krásno nad Kysucou on the main line from Čadca to Žilina. This photo shows 680.004 on 26 August 2014 in Skalité. A couple of weeks earlier a LEO Express FLIRT had been there for the same purposes, the tests thus providing two rare opportunities to see these types of train on this line.