Leo Talgo will return to service. Maybe next time
posted on 10th Aug 2026 22:25
The Leo Express website indicated yesterday that from 10 August, services using Talgo will again be offered on the Bohumín - Praha route. For LE 1254, LE 1255, LE 1266 and LE 1265 services, which were previously canceled at the end of July, this Spanish rake reappeared in the LE reservation system. In addition, on the operator's website on 9 August appeared the above-mentioned services for which it was not possible to buy a ticket, which could indicate Talgo test runs. However, these were fictitious trains - like the Talgo use for a subsequent day...
Even though on 31 July 2026, Leo Express's press spokesperson stated that "we are dealing with a technical problem that will be removed soon", apparently this did not happen even after ten days. On the night of 9 to 10 August, two Talgos were stored dead in Bohumín, and even today after six o'clock in the morning, there was no indication that one of them would soon be on the track on the LE 1254 line to Praha.
The scenario that the announced, repaired and prepared Talgo would arrive in Bohumín from somewhere else just before departure did not come true either. Instead, at around 6.45 h, a classic rake with three ex-DB cars and a Vectron was pushed from the freight section of the station to the passenger section. It then departed for the capital at 7.04 h. And in the LE reservation system, which proudly and bravely offered Talgo on the above-mentioned services in the morning, only classic rakes, currently with three-cars, appear again.
Logically, questions arise such as why LE started offering Talgo in its reservation system when neither was operational and one set has been in the Kutná Hora works for a week, or what technical defect is it if it still cannot be eliminated, or why another Talgo was not deployed when Leo Express claimed that these units were "undergoing routine maintenance in the meantime". We don't even need to mention that this procedure creates complications and inconveniences for the on-board staff (and passengers, of course).
We don't even hesitate to send such questions to Leo Express anymore, because the answer would be the usual bunch of phrases and half-truths, with which there is no point in detaining even the reader. So let's be surprised how long will take the modification of the 6B16 rake, on which the entrance doors and other activities are currently being carried out in Kutná Hora.
