There are still fairly few and small open access private cargo operators in Czech republic, but Advanced World Transport AWT is one of them. The macine is an old Czechoslovakian state railways class T486.2, now class 742.500 of which 41 were made 1983-1986. It is a 883 kW diesel intended for "midrange to heavy" shunting and main line operation, with a top speed of 90 km/h. Of these only 41 locomotives were made, but the precursor model, which has a much taller shorter front section was built in over 450 copies and has also been thoroughly rebuilt now to yield totally new locomotives of the class CDC 742.7. The variant with a taller short front section is fairly common in CZ and SK, but this one is not.
Picture from Usti nad Labem station 15.7.2018 by Ilkka Siissalo.

Detail picture of the same class 742.5xx locomotive as above.
Picture from Usti nad Labem station 15.7.2018 by Ilkka Siissalo.

Still the same locomotive, but seen from the other side. It's easy to see that the basic design is copied from USA from their 1930s designs via those few machines that USA delivered to the USSR still during WWII. This machine still looks outside as it used to be, but according to the stickers on its sides it has already been modernised by the company CZ Loko and has new Caterpillar engines. CZ Loko has rebuilt many more old Czech engines and is reselling them as cheaper but new locomotives for example to the Baltic states, Finland and Russia.
Picture from Usti nad Labem station 15.7.2018 by Ilkka Siissalo.

Arriva is a daughter company of the German DB AG, it is the brand name that Deutsche Bahn uses in its passenger train businesses abroad. In the Czech Republic Arriva has lately won many public tenders and has therefore been spreading all over the country. This train is a former DB Br628 diesel railbus. Many of these Br628 trains have lately become surplus in Germany, so that DB has pushed a number of them to Arriva for use in neighbouring countries. Arriva Vlaky, the Czech subsidiary of DB Arriva, calls these old Br628 railbuses now in Czechia as class 845. They are used both as short distance commuter trains as well as within some express train lines.
Picture from Prague main station (Praha hlavní nádraží) 2.9.2020 by Markku Salo.

German Deutsche Bahn runs its cargo business in the Czech Republic under the name DB Cargo Czechia DBCC. Here we see a Siemens Vectron Br 193 multiple electric system locomotive registered in Germany and an old Czech built diesel shunter machine of the type T448p registered in the Czech Republic, both running on behalf of DB Cargo Czechia.
Picture from Ostrava Pravé nádraží 15.1.2021 by Petr Štefek.

An old diesel shunter from the old communist times, type T448p, is seen here during shunting works passing the Ostrava main passenger station's passenger platforms together with a chemical slurry transportation wagon rented from the company GATX.
Picture from Ostrava hlavní nádraží (Ostrava main station) 15.1.2021 by Petr Štefek.

Some of German state railways DB's cargo trains come all the way to Czech Republic, where they are driven by Czech train drivers. This is a view from the driver's cab of a German Br 189 EuroSprinter locomotive of DB. The locomotive was leading a long container train.
Picture from Melnik in January 2017 by Michal Makalouš.

A long mixed freight train with German multiple electric system Siemens EuroSprinter Br189 locomotive at the Czech station of Děčín. The similar locomotive on the left was just parked and standing idle. But the train on the right is the train 45300 Děčín - Halle. The train was 485 m long and weighed about 1100 tons.
Picture from Děčín 9.12.2019 by Michal Makalouš, who was the driver of the train 45300 and who drove it to Dresden.

DB Cargo train led by a class Br193 multiple electric system Siemens Vectron. This was a container train with wagons from Great Britain, train no. 47306 bound for Hannover. The train was 612 metres long and weighed about 1530 tons.
In the background can be seen the front of a Br189 locomotive. That one was train no.40738 to Bremerhaven.
Picture from Děčín Vychod 21.6.2020 by Michal Makalouš, who was the driver of the Vectron.

A view out of the side window of a Siemens Vectron locomotive. This was the same train as in the picture above. Here the train had to stop in front of a red light at Dolni Zleb, just about one kilometre before the Czech - German border, so that the driver Michal Makalouš had time to take a photo of his train.
Picture from Dolni Zleb 21.6.2020 by Michal Makalouš.

A DB class 193 Siemens Vectron locomotive no.367 seen here underway on the Bohumin to Ostrava route hauling a huge track maintenance machine, which can detect and repair track irregularities. These rail grinding machines can detect and repair minor profile irregulaties in track rails.
Picture from near Ostrava, on the route from Bohumin to Ostrava, 17.1.2021 by Petr Štefek.

This very old former ČD class 141 locomotive is marked to be owned by JUMA Bohemia PRAHA CZ. Not much information is online about the company, but it is registered in the same address in Prague as a bunch of other Russian owned companies, so it's a good guess that it might be owned by Russian private persons. ČD class 141, also known as ČSD Class E 499.1 from the old communist times, was a locomotive built by the Škoda Works 1957 to 1961 in 148 copies, some of which can still be seen in use. It was intended for both passenger and cargo trains. Its top speed was 120 km/h and power rating was a modest 2032 kW. It works only under 3kV DC. These same machines were delivered to what then was Czechoslovakia in 1959, then in 1960 to Soviet Russian railways and in 1961 to the Polish PKP where the type was known as EP05.
Picture from the station of Kolín 3.9.2020 by Markku Salo.

The very same class 141 locomotive number 018 of JUMA Bohemia as shown above, here on its way near Ostrava.
Picture from Ostrava Pravé nádraží 17.12.2020 by Petr Štefek.

Leo Express is a private open access operator, which competes with state railways especially on the busy Praha-Ostrava route, but Leo's trains continue all the way through to Košice in Slovakia. Whereas Regiojet (see below) profiles itself as a budget train operator, Leo wants to be a quality operator. Leo's trains are Swiss made Stadler FLIRTs with quite stylish interiors including a good buffet restaurant.
Picture of a Leo Express FLIRT rushing fast past the Praha-Klánovice station 15.7.2017 by Ilkka Siissalo.

Another one of the Leo Express FLIRT trains, here waiting for its departure time for Košice in Slovakia on the extremely short platform no. 1b of Praha (Prag, Prague) main station. The platform is just barely long enough for these luxurious FLIRT trains.
Picture from Praha hlavní nádraží (Prague main station) 15.7.2018 by Ilkka Siissalo.

Another picture of the same Stadler FLIRT train of Leo Express as above. Note how nicely its windows act as mirrors.
Picture from Praha hlavní nádraží (Prag main station) 15.7.2018 by Ilkka Siissalo.

A Leo Express FLIRT train in full speed. Note the now new company logo and the new colouring of the train with more orange colour.
Picture from Ostrava Vitkovice 22.9.2024 by Petr Štefek.

The coronavirus pandemic put Leo Express in a financially difficult situation. They planned to buy three new 160 km/h fast six coach trains from China and sell away their existing Stadler FLIRT trains. This is one of the new Sirius trains built by CRRC ZELC. But the Chinese had serious problems in getting these trains accepted to use in Europe. Finally Leo Express cancelled their order. This individual Sirius train stayed at the VUZ Velim test center for several months. Here we see it sidetracked at Břeclav.
Picture from Břeclav 23.10.2022 by Michal Makalouš.

The same Chinese Sirius train as shown above, but here seen from the other direction.
Picture from Břeclav 23.10.2022 by Michal Makalouš.

For one more picture of a Sirius train like this one, scroll down on this page until you reach RegioJet.

LTE is an Austrian cargo operator, which is active in many countries: The Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary etc. They run cargo trains in several countries, often with rented locomotives and wagons and often using also personnel from other operators. This is a Br 193 Siemens Vectron multisystem locomotive, rented from ELL, European Locomotive Leasing and pulling a long but empty train of LTE. In this case the train driver was "loaned" from DB Cargo Czechia.
Picture from Děčín Vychod 26.6.2020 by Michal Makalouš.

One of the first real state railways competitors in Czech republic was Regiojet. The company was founded in 2009. First they used old former state railways Škoda locomotives and all kinds of old coaches they could find, but since the beginning Regiojet has expanded a lot. They have bought a large fleet of InterCity coaches from Austrian ÖBB, Swiss SBB and Belgian SNMB and modernised them. Most of Regiojet's trains are today led by modern Siemens Vectron locomotives capable of running under multiple electric systems. For example this Vectron, no. 193.206 is in German register and owned by the company European Locomotive Leasing ELL.
Picture from Brno station 14.7.2018 by Ilkka Siissalo.

Another view of the same Regiojet Vectron. The company profiles itself as a cheaper alternative to the state railways and it is especially favored by student age young people.
Picture from Brno station 14.7.2018 by Ilkka Siissalo.

A RegioJet train led by the Vectron locomotive 193 226 is seen here near the city of Ostrava, on the line between Ostrava Svinov and Polanka nad Odrou vyhybna.
Picture 6.3.2021 by Petr Štefek.

Not all of the RegioJet trains are operated by brand new rented Vectron locomotives. This one is a second generation Bombardier TRAXX numbered 386 203, seen here from almost the same spot as the picture shown above, near the city of Ostrava, on the line between Ostrava Svinov and Polanka nad Odrou vyhybna. Notice the red roof on one of the coaches. That indicates it's a former Austrian ÖBB coach. RegioJet aquired a large number of old express train coaches from Austria, as Austrian ÖBB replaced more and more of its traditional locomotive pulled trains with Siemens Railjet trainsets. RegioJet has also bought a lot of used coaches from Switzerland and Belgium and renovated them.
Picture 6.3.2021 by Petr Štefek.

Leo Express ordered these so called Sirius trains from CRRC ZELC in China, but CRRC had such a long history of not getting these accepted for traffic in the Czech Republic that finally Leo Express cancelled its order. Now two of these Sirius trains are running for RegioJet between Ústí nad Labem and Kolín based on some kind of a temporary permission for traffic.
Picture 22.3.2024 from Kolín-Zálabí station by Otto Tuomainen.

The Swedish cargo train company Green Cargo ordered several very large six axle Transmontana locomotives for hauling heavy steel and iron ore trains in northern Sweden. Here a Siemens Vectron Br 183 of the company Railadventure is hauling two new Softronic Transmontana locomotives through the Czech Republic towards the German border. Transmontana locomotives are produced by the Romanian company Softronic. Railadventure is a company which specialises in this kind of special transports, like hauling new trains through countries where those trains do not have a permission to drive.
Picture from Pecky 19.6.2020 by Michal Makalouš.

Slovakian state railways ZSSK's locomotive of the class 162 no.006 with an express train in full speed on the line from Bohumin to Ostrava.
Picture from near Ostrava 17.1.2021 by Petr Štefek.

A visiting neighbour in old colours. This Slovakian state railways Škoda "Gorila" locomotive has been painted in its very old, communist time colours and is also carrying once again its old class marking as "E499". It has here brought a Slovakian ZSSK's express train to Praha.
Picture from Praha hlavní nádraží (Prague main station) 14.4.2023 by Josef Horáček.

Another visiting neighbour in old communist time colours. This Slovakian state railways Škoda E479 double locomotive has also been kept in retro colours. These locomotives normally pull heavy iron ore trains, but here we see this one pulling a rake of old communist era passenger coaches as a tour.
Picture from Praha-Masarykovo station 7.7.2023 by Josef Horáček.