ComfortJet presented in Austria

On Wednesday morning of 20 August 2025, the ComfortJet 012 was presented to the Austrian public at Wien Hbf. It was a complete nine-car rake and the reason for this presentation was the fact that in connection with the opening of the Koralmbahn, a more extensive adjustment of the timetables will take place (also) on the Südbahn from 14 December 2025, so that starting from the 2026 timetable, three pairs of "Vindobona" services will start running daily on the Praha - Brno - Wien - Graz - Klagenfurt - Villach route, which will be provided by ComfortJets.

Michal Krapinec adds: "Since the launch of the joint operation of ÖBB and ČD railjets in 2014 on the Praha - Wien - Graz route, the number of passengers between both capitals has increased by approximately 40 %. We are therefore responding to this increase in demand, and in addition to expanding the range of services, the capacity of the trains will also increase. The nine-car ComfortJet with a total of 555 seats offer 113 more seats than the railjet."

From Praha to southern Austria, these direct services are scheduled to depart at approximately 6:37, 10:37 and 14:37, and from Carinthia they will arrive at Praha at approximately 13:23, 19:23 and 23:32. The journey time between the departure and destination stations will be approximately 8 hours. These trains will cover the section from Graz to Klagenfurt in approximately three quarters of an hour thanks to the Koralmbahn. Graz and Villach are also important transfer hubs for the further journey to Slovenia, Croatia and Italy.

The "Vindobona" to Villach services, together with the "Berliner" services, will be the fastest ČD trains (still only in the pull mode) thanks to the highest operating speed of 230 km/h and will exceed the current maximum speed of 200 km/h, which ČD trains have so far achieved abroad and which from 31 August 2025 the Class 680 Pendolini will also start running on the IV. corridor when travelling between Praha and České Budějovice.

The ComfortJet 012 then left for an afternoon presentation in Graz and Klagenfurt, after which it ended its journey in Villach. Then, on the morning of 21 August, it set off from Villach for repeated test runs on the Klagenfurt - Graz section at speeds of up to 230 km/h, which also included a stop at the evacuation station in the Koralmtunnel. This unit will remain in Graz until mid-September, as it will be used for further tests and training of Austrian personnel.

The deliveries of the entire batch of twenty nine-car ComfortJets under the contract from April 2021 will be completed in the first half of 2026, after which 17 units will be diagrammed and three will serve as a reserve.