Actually 680 pendolino timetable 2011 (Allgemeines Forum)

Oscar (NL), Eindhoven (NL), Donnerstag, 03.12.2009, 10:46 (vor 6064 Tagen) @ jan_brno

About our train sets 680: at present the best train that could Czech Railways (CD) offer to customers, but for many people are this trains still very expensive (compulsory reservation because of Super City category).

More precisely: people have to pay a supplement (which probably includes the reservation fee) for these trains. It works this way in most countries (FR, ES, IT, UK, CN, JP). At the moment, Germany is the only country (1) that allows use of high-speed trains without reservation.
ICE International does not require reservation in NL, but you usually have to pay a supplement.

Yes, 680 can reach up to 230 km/h, but our corridors were rebuild only to 160 km/h...

It will reach 230 km/h if it is allowed to run to Hamburg.
MRCE ES64-U2 machines ("wannabe Taurus") can reach up to 230 km/h but run cargo trains at half this speed...

680 abroad: Austria - for OBB is not acceptable to operate these train under SC category and also because of not enough space for luggage.
Germany - for DB is not acceptable the capacity of the train sets.

Serious question: has CD ever considered international service of the 680s?
CZ is a rather small country and use of multi-national trains should be very obvious (even large countries such as DE and FR have international trains). Do the 680s have ERTMS Level 2 trainborne equipment? (today, ERTMS is a.f.a.i.k. a pre-requirement for international high-speed trains) (2)

Example: when DB called tenders for the third generation of ICE, they had connections to Amsterdam and Brussels in mind, but not Vienna and Zurich/Interlaken (they were already served by ICE 1). As NL and BE have different voltages and signalling, a multisystem train was required and hence developed.

DB said in past that if CD increases the number of seats (coupled sets) then could be CD 680 acceptable - oops, 680 has never been tested in coupled mode. so...

Given the fact that domestic DB-IC trains are running with less coaches than originally planned, this is a quite daring statement...

Cheers,

Oscar (NL).

(1) as soon as the V250 are delivered, NL and BE are next.

(2) it's a pity the German LZB will be phased out. Compared to ERTMS, it is a rather simple system and it works.

--
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