In a surprise move, the secondary route from Zdice, west of Praha, to Protivin, west of Ceske Budejovice had many of its railcars replaced by loco hauled trains for a few years from December 2008. The reason given was to provide an alternative Praha - Ceske Budejovice service while the main line was being upgraded. The new through services were much slower than trains on the main line and usually only loaded to 2 coaches, making them a poor alternative from the travelling public's perspective but they did give Class 749s made redundant by developments elsewhere a new lease of life.
749.011 was photographed near Rejkovice on R1246, the 09:41 from Praha to Ceske Budejovice, on 3 May 2009.
PHOTO DATA FOR IMAGE 09-D-1539
camera : Nikon D2X
lens : 28-70mm f/2.8
focal length : 56.00 (84mm 35mm eq)
shutter : 1/640 sec
aperture : f/7.1
ISO : 200 ISO
original : Digital: 12MP NEF
SUBJECT DATA
Loco / Unit : 749.011
Train : R1246, 09:41 Praha hl.n. - Ceske Budejovice Passenger