The Moravian-Silesian Railway Museum and railway enthusiasts from the Silesian Railway Association have prepared something special for all train lovers. On Saturday, 18 February 2017, they can travel by train along the railway sidings of the Ostrava-Karviná coalfield. Public interest in this special journey is huge and both trains were sold out immediately. The partner for this event is the international transport company AWT, a member of the PKP CARGO group, which operates the sidings in this region.
The Silesian Railway Association and Moravian-Silesian Railway Museum will dispatch two special trains through the Ostrava-Karviná coalfield for train lovers and the general public. Both trains will depart at 11:00 and 14:00 from the Ostrava-Střed (Center) station, which houses the Museum, and journey along the sidings of the Ostrava-Karviná coalfield in a loop back to the Ostrava-Střed station.
“Public interest was very surprising and exceeded our originally planned capacity. We therefore decided to dispatch both trains with more cars,” says Hana Antalecová, a member of the Association, adding, “We would like to thank AWT for allowing us to organize this event. We just knew that a ride like this would be very interesting for both enthusiasts and children.” A total of 600 passengers will make the journey. Each car will have a guide to tell them about the history of coal mining or the railway sidings connected to it.
The sidings in the Ostrava-Karviná coalfield are operated by AWT, a member of the PKP Cargo group, which is a partner of the event. “We are very pleased by the public’s interest in taking a ride on our sidings. Passengers can get an entirely different view of the local countryside than what they are used to, for example, from in a car,” says Bohumil Bonczek, the vice chairman and Chief Technical Officer of AWT.
Throughout the circuit, both trains will visit, for example, the Zárubek location, Josef pit, Orlová-Poruba, Karviná, ČSA Mine, Doubrava or Heřmanice. At the Michal mine and Žofie mine pits, there will be a short stop to look at pictures with captions. “The trains will run according to a predetermined schedule and have priority over freight trains, but our operations will not be affected,” says Ludvík Kobza, the Train Services Manager for AWT.
