The historical motor car "Slovenská strela" returned today to Kopřivnice, where it was manufactured in 1936, after more than two years of restoration. The train set departed from Přerov in the morning and arrived in Kopřivnice after ten o'clock. For railway enthusiasts and fans of the TATRA brand, this was the event of the year. Dozens of people welcomed the train along the tracks in the town. The "Strela" found its new home in a glass depository, built specifically for this purpose, in front of the new TATRA Commercial Vehicle Museum.
During the past two years, literally every screw of the vehicle passed through the hands of restorers. The result is a cherry-red beauty with an aerodynamic shape, a revived symbol of the technical advancement of interwar Czechoslovakia.
The train departed from Přerov at 8:30 this morning, traveling through Lipník nad Bečvou, Hranice, Studénka, and Příbor. It reached the Kopřivnice station, the freight station, after ten o'clock and arrived at the depository where a festive welcoming ceremony took place at 11:00.
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We want the Slovenská strela to be a living monument, traveling on Czech tracks to demonstrate the skill of our ancestors not just as a memento, but primarily as an example for the present.
Pavel Lazar
Chairman of the Board and CEO of TATRA TRUCKS
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When Jaroslav Strnad and I bought Tatra, our steps soon led to the Technical Museum, in front of which the Slovenská strela stood on a pedestal. When we saw its condition, we decided to do something about it.
René Matera
Among the guests at the ceremonial event was Ivo Vondrák, the governor of the Moravian-Silesian Region. "I am very fond of railway transport and am happy that the Slovenská strela has returned to the tracks," he said.
The Slovenská strela moved home a week after the vehicle successfully passed a technical and safety test. Based on this, the railway inspector issued a vehicle fitness certificate.
The total costs of the renovation, including the construction of the depository, amounted to 118 million crowns, of which nearly 80 million is a subsidy from the European Union. The remaining amount was provided by TATRA TRUCKS.
About Slovenská strela
The Slovenská strela is a four-axle motor vehicle manufactured in 1936 in the Kopřivnice Tatra in only two units. In the services of the Czechoslovak State Railways, they were designated M 290.001 and M 290.002, with the latter still existing today. The factory type designation of the motor train is Tatra T 68, and it was named Slovenská strela based on the route from Bratislava to Prague where it operated. The motor vehicle was introduced to regular operation on July 13, 1936. With just one stop in Brno, the Slovenská strela initially managed to transport its passengers in 4 hours and 51 minutes, and by 1938 this time was shortened to an incredible 4 hours and 18 minutes. This record was broken only after a long seventy years by the SC Pendolino train type, which then covered the more than 400 km long route in 3 hours and 47 minutes.
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