Leo Express

Leo Express Global a.s.
Joint-stock company
Founded 8 January 2010 (2010-01-08)
Founder Leoš Novotný
Headquarters Prague, Czech Republic[1]
Key people
 Leoš Novotný (founder, majority shareholder),[1] Peter Köhler (CEO, minority shareholder)
Services Open-access operator
Revenue Increase CZK 129 mio. (First half of 2015)[2]
Increase CZK -38 mio. (First half of 2015)[2]
Total assets Decrease CZK 992 mio. (First half of 2015)[2]
Total equity Decrease CZK -196 mio. (First half of 2015)[2]
Owner Leoš Novotný (97 %)[3]
Number of employees
 Decrease 160 (2014)[3]
Parent Leo Express N.V. (95 %)[3]
Website www.le.cz
Connection map. LEO Express long-distance trains shown in black.
Stadler Flirt in Leo Express livery
Interior of the second class

Leo Express, formerly Rapid Express, is an open-access train operator in the Czech Republic, established in 2010. It launched inter-city services in November 2012 on the Prague–Ostrava route, on which Czech Railways (state owned train operator) and RegioJet (open-access train operator) were already running trains.[4]

The company claims to run services between around 30 cities in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Ukraine.[5] The company also runs buses to Poland, Southern Bohemia and Ukraine.[6]

Services

A trial passenger service was launched on 13 November 2012, ahead of the full service planned for 9 December 2012.[7] The full service was delayed until 18 January 2013 due to technical problems with the trains.[8] The company runs 18 trains daily between Prague and Bohumín, calling at Pardubice, Olomouc, Hranice na Moravě, Přerov, Suchdol nad Odrou, Studénka and Ostrava.[9] Several lines are extended to Karviná, Třinec, Český Těšín and further across Žilina and other cities to Poprad - Tatry and Košice in Slovakia. However, this service is notoriously unreliable, and often the LEO Express buses fail to even appear at the designated bus stops. [10]

There are three travelling classes: Economy, Business and Premium. In Premium Class, the seats are foldable to a sleeping position.[11] LEO Express promotes, in line with EU strategy, the door to door concept of public transportation.[12] In March 2015 the company announced a partnership with Uber in major cities.[13]

Trains

LEO Express owns five long distance specially adapted Stadler Flirt IC five-car electric multiple units.[4] The first was handed over to LEO Express on 5 February 2012.[14] The Stadler Flirt units used by LEO Express have the fastest acceleration on the Prague - Ostrava railway route. The trains have on-board WiFi,[15] and are air-conditioned. LEO Express trains are black with golden details and a white company logo.

On 27 September 2016 LEO Express signed an order for CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive to supply three electric multiple unit trains in mid-2018, with a framework agreement for up to 30 more which would be delivered between 2019 and 2021. The order is intended to support the operator's plans to expand beyond the Czech Republic and Slovakia.[16]

Buses

The company operates black LEO Express buses between Bohumín (Silesia), Katowice and Kraków (Poland) which run twice a day. They also run a service from Kosice (Slovakia) to Krakow passing through Poprad and the Tatras region and Krakow Airport. This service runs three times a day in each direction according to the timetable, although these buses are renowned for long delays, and often don't arrive at all.[6] In June 2015, the operator introduced a new network branded LEO Express Easy, a co-operation with regional bus companies. The LEO Express Easy bus service currently runs connections between Prague, Tábor, České Budějovice and Český Krumlov as well as between Košice, Michalovce, Uzhorod and Mukacheve.[17]

The company's bus timetables are integrated with their train timetables, and stop in front of the railway stations.[18]

Plans

In the half of April 2014 the company announced a plan to run trains in cooperation with Železničná spoločnosť Slovensko between Prague and Košice (from December 2014).[19] However this plan was cancelled in the middle of July 2014.[20] The company decided to launch one daily train from Prague to Košice and one night train from Košice to Prague from December 2014.[11] In November 2015 the company launched a bus connection between Bohumín and Kraków.[21]

From December 2015 LEO Express plans to start calling at Kolín and Zábřeh na Moravě (Czech Republic). It will also introduce new connections in Slovakia and will become the first private train operator calling in Prešov.[22]

See also

  • WESTbahn, another open access operator, in Austria
  • RegioJet, another Czech open access operator

References

  1. 1 2 Financial statements of RAPID Express a.s. for 2010
  2. 1 2 3 4 Semi-annual report of LEO Express a.s. for first half of year 2015, pages 21-24
  3. 1 2 3 Annual report of LEO Express a.s. for 2015, pages 9, 38-39, 76
  4. 1 2 "First Leo Express train handed over". Railway Gazette International. 8 February 2012.
  5. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 31 August 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  6. 1 2 trueScan, GFX Prague Bistro, CODE. "LEO Express autobusy". www.le.cz. Archived from the original on 31 August 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  7. ↑ "LEO Express carries first passengers". Railway Gazette International. 15 November 2012.
  8. ↑ Sůra, Jan. "Leo Express vyřešil problémy s vlaky, od pátku spustí plný provoz". iDNES. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
  9. ↑ "Timetable". LEO Express. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
  10. ↑ https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g274707-d7698299-Reviews-Leo_Express-Prague_Bohemia.html
  11. 1 2 http://www.parlamentnilisty.cz/zpravy/tiskovezpravy/LEO-Express-uz-jezdi-do-Kosic-v-sobotu-vecer-predstavi-vlaky-v-nocnim-rezimu-350038
  12. ↑ Němeček, Josef. "Šéf LEO Express pro Evropu: Černá čísla budou příští rok - Roklen24.cz". Retrieved 2015-09-03.
  13. ↑ "Leo Express uzavřel spolupráci s Uberem, zatím nabídne odvoz na nádraží". Retrieved 2015-09-03.
  14. ↑ Josef Petrák (5 February 2012). "LEO Express převzal od výrobce první jednotku FLIRT". ŽelPage.
  15. ↑ "Fast internet means satisfied passengers". Railway Gazette International. 29 February 2012.
  16. ↑ "LEO Express orders Chinese EMUs". Railway Gazette. 2016-09-27. Retrieved 2017-03-03.
  17. ↑ "Leo Express expanduje na Ukrajinu, spustí autobusy do Mukačeva". iDNES.cz. Retrieved 2015-10-15.
  18. ↑ "LEO Express rozšiřuje síť o návazné autobusy do jižních Čech | ParlamentniListy.cz – politika ze všech stran". www.parlamentnilisty.cz. Retrieved 2015-09-03.
  19. ↑ http://byznys.ihned.cz/zpravodajstvi-cesko/c1-62028560-po-jancurovi-vyrazi-na-slovensko-i-leo-express-usiluje-o-trat-do-kosic
  20. ↑ http://ekonomika.idnes.cz/zssk-nebude-spolupracovat-s-leo-express-ffc-/eko-doprava.aspx?c=A140613_112937_eko-doprava_suj
  21. ↑ http://ekonomika.idnes.cz/leo-express-spousti-spojeni-do-krakova-d9s-/eko-doprava.aspx?c=A141105_112434_eko-doprava_suj
  22. ↑ "Více vlaků na Slovensko. Soukromníci od prosince dál posílí". iDNES.cz. Retrieved 2015-09-03.
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