Railcar A railcar (not to be confused with a railway car) is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a train consisting of a single coach (carriage, car), with a drive ...

class M 290.0 (manufactured as Tatra 68), named after an express train which it served as ''

Slovenská strela ''Slovenská strela'' ( Slovak for "Slovak Arrow") is the name of an express train, first operated by ČSD in Czechoslovakia on the line between Bratislava and Prague. Introduced in 1936, Slovenská strela served as a ČSD flagship between the ...

'' was manufactured by Tatra Kopřivnice in 1936 for

Czechoslovak State Railways Czechoslovak State Railways (''Československé státní dráhy'' in Czech or ''Československé štátne dráhy'' in Slovak, often abbreviated to ČSD) was the state-owned railway company of Czechoslovakia. The company was founded in 1918 a ...

. Only two units were manufactured and were used on newly introduced express train

starting in 1936. They covered the distance in 4 hours and 28 minutes with a maximum speed of 130 km/h. Both were taken out of service when World War II started in 1939. Afterwards, they were only occasionally deployed on local routes. The M 290.001 was taken out of service in 1953, the M290.002 in 1960. The M 290.002 is now on display in the company museum of

Tatra (company) Tatra is a Czech vehicle manufacturer from Kopřivnice. It is owned by the ''Tatra Trucks'' company, and it is the third oldest company in the world producing cars with an unbroken history. The company was founded in 1850 as ''Ignatz Schustal ...

Kopřivnice Kopřivnice (; german: Nesselsdorf) is a town in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 21,000 inhabitants. It is an industrial town, known especially for the vehicle manufacturer Tatra. Administrative parts Villages of ...

. The M 290.001 did not survive. As of August 2018, the car no. 290,002 is being restored at a cost of 35 million crowns (

CZK The koruna, or crown, ( sign: Kč; code: CZK, cs, koruna česká) has been the currency of the Czech Republic since 1993. The koruna is one of the European Union's 9 currencies, and the Czech Republic is legally bound to adopt the euro curre ...

). Upon completion it will once again be capable of full operation.

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Image:M 290.0 front.JPG, Front view of M 290.002 Image:M 290 001 a 02.jpg, Railcars M 290.001 and M 290.002 in train station

Přerov Přerov (; german: Prerau) is a city in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 41,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Bečva River. In the past it was a major crossroad in the heart of Moravia in the Czech Republic. The historic centre ...

during a demonstration ride Image:Interiér vozu M 290.002 po renovaci, stav v roce 2021.jpg, Interior of M 290.002 Image:M 290.002 Slovenská strela, Žleby zastávka – Žleby 01.jpg, Railcar M 290.002 near train station

Žleby Žleby is a municipality and village in Kutná Hora District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,400 inhabitants. Administrative parts Villages of Kamenné Mosty, Markovice and Zehuby are administrative parts of Ž ...

during a special ride

Gallery

See also