Perhaps most famous for its appearance in the 2006 James Bond film 'Casino Royale', the Czech Pendolino entered service in December 2005 on the route between Prague and Ostrava. The train has been beset by problems of various kinds since coming into service (as have similar trains introduced in Finland), however these problems have now largely been resolved. In December 2006 the Czech Pendolino trains were given permission to operate in Slovakia and Austria enabling them to link further routes including twice a day between Prague and Vienna, and once a day between Prague and Bratislava. There are plans in place to also operate a service between Berlin in Germany and Prague.

The trains reach top speeds of 230km/h and provide all the comfort of a modern train including full buffet service on board.