All Leo Express Talgo services stop again — no return date
CZECHIA: Leo Express has run none of its four daily Talgo services between Bohumín and Prague since 31 July — the third disruption in three months, and this time without an end date.
The suspended services — LE 1254, LE 1255, LE 1266 and LE 1265 — combined a Talgo set with a Vectron locomotive. The operator is not offering Talgo departures for any future date and has not said when the sets will return, or how many are affected.
The withdrawal comes as the operator, half-owned by Renfe, builds up its fleet of modernised ex-Deutsche Bahn coaches and prepares to take over the Prague–Munich line in December — an expansion the Talgo sets were leased to carry.
Third disruption in three months
The 1990s-built sets entered service on 30 April on Prague–Bratislava and Prague–Prešov.
By early July no Talgo was running at all; Leo Express cited maintenance and testing of its RIC coaches. The sets returned on Bohumín–Prague from 14 July, ran irregularly, and stopped on 31 July.
“Nobody banned the operation of Talgo units. We are solving a technical problem that will be fixed soon,” Leo Express said in response to press enquiries. No separate announcement has been issued; the cancellations are visible in the operator’s service information.
The fleet behind the expansion
Leo Express plans a fleet of 13 Talgo sets alongside 59 modernised ex-Deutsche Bahn coaches. The coaches are to form the base of the Prague–Munich line the operator takes over in December.
Renfe holds 50% of Leo Express and made the Talgo sets available for the expansion — an arrangement meant to give the operator capacity without new-build lead times.