Railcar A railcar (not to be confused with the generic term railroad car or 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 coa ...

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

. Only two units were manufactured and were used on newly introduced express train Slovenská strela 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 in Kopřivnice. 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 (currency sign, sign: Kč; ISO 4217, code: CZK, ), has been the currency of the Czech Republic since 1993. The koruna is one of the European Union's eight currencies, and the Czech Republic is legally bound to Czech Repub ...

). 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 (; ) 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 city centre is we ...

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 during a special ride

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See also