Slovenská strela

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M290.002 in the museum

A Czech 680 Pendolino in Kralupy nad Vltavou on Test Ride.

Slovenská strela - Diesel motor coach M290 Class – Tatra 68 (1936), was a unit of the Czecho-Slovakian railways ČSD .

Only two units were manufactured. In the 1930s they were used for the fast connection between Prague and Bratislava, covering the distance in 4 hours and 28 minutes with a maximum speed of 85 km/h. They were taken out of service when WWII started in 1939. Afterwards, they were only deployed in local connections.

The M290.001 was taken out of service in 1953, the M290.002 in 1960. The M290.002 is now on display in the company museum of Tatra in Kopřivnice.

Since December 2006 the name "Slovenská strela" has been used for the high-speed Pendolino ETR 680, manufactured in Italy and owned by Czech Railways as ČD 680 Class. They operate between Prague and Ostrava, Prague and Vienna and Prague and Bratislava.