Renfe Alquiler de Material Ferroviario (RAMF) has signed a 15-year agreement with Leo Express for the lease of RIC-compliant passenger coaches approved for operation across Europe. This deal enables the Czech operator to strengthen its cross-border services and its presence in both PSO contracts and open-access markets.
The coaches were purchased by Renfe Alquiler de Material Ferroviario from Deutsche Bahn and mark Renfe’s first acquisition of conventional loco-hauled rolling stock since the 1980s.
Part of this fleet will be deployed on the recently awarded Ex36 contract, which allows Leo Express to operate the Prague–Munich service from December 2026.
The Ex36 contract, tendered by the Czech Ministry of Transport, provides for eight daily services on the 439-kilometre Prague–Plzeň–Munich corridor, running every two hours over a five-year term.
The Renfe Alquiler coaches, offering both first and second class, are cleared for 200 km/h and provide up to 80 seats per vehicle, as well as air-conditioning, on-board connectivity and a coach adapted for passengers with reduced mobility.
This deal comes on top of the 10-year lease of Talgo VI sets to Leo Express, which are due to enter traffic in 2026 on new international routes linking, among others, Prague and Bratislava. In this way, Renfe Alquiler consolidates its role as a strategic lever within the group for internationalisation and for maximising the return on its assets in Central Europe.