Gepard Express was chosen for its lower price and shorter journey times. Photo credit: M. Schmerkova, Brno City Municipality.
Brno, Mar 31 (BD) – The six-month pilot operation of the direct service between Brno and Vienna Schwechat Airport is coming to an end, but trains on the route will continue to run as part of the so-called public service commitment, with faster journey times and a new timetable.
On Thursday, based on preliminary market consultation, Brno City Council approved a plan to ensure the operation of a direct rail connection between Brno and Vienna Airport in the period from 11 June 2023 to mid-December 2025, based on a contract with Gepard Express.
The carrier should provide one pair of direct train connections per day, partially funded by the City of Brno, at a cost of CZK 13.93 million for the rest of this year, and CZK 28.57 million for the whole of 2024. The mechanism for calculating funding from the city for the year 2025 will be set out in the contract.
As well as Gepard Express, the existing service provider RegioJet also showed interest in operating the line, which was intended to correspond to the morning departure and evening arrival peaks. Gepard Express was chosen for its lower price and shorter journey times; according to Petr Kratochvíl, Brno city councillor for transport, passengers will see cuts to journey times of approximately 35 minutes with the new service.
The connections are scheduled at the following times:
- Brno hlavni nadrazi 2:15 am – Flughafen Wien 3:50 am
- Flughafen Wien 11:10 pm – Brno hlavni nadrazi 0:45 am
Gepard Express also had to ensure that the new service would include air-conditioned carriages, multilingual customer service, availability of rail replacement bus services in case of emergency, optional insurance in case of severe delays, and compatibility with South Moravian travel passes for domestic passengers on the Brno–Břeclav section.
