Slovenská Strela

In the 1930s, the Czechoslovak State Railways modernized their system and laid the tracks of a national identity to connect Czechs and Slovaks with an iconic bullet train: the Slovenská Strela, or “Slovak Arrow.”

The high-speed train began running between Prague and Bratislava in 1936, making the journey in roughly four and a half hours—more than an hour faster than by steam train. Its inventor, Josef Sousedík, the “Moravian Edison,” had upgraded his own sedan with an electric motor which inspired the thinking behind the Slovenská Strela: a hybrid engine that used an electric motor for ignition while relying on combustion to propel it through open stretches.

Painted a bold cherry red, topped with a golden roof, the Strela was unmistakable. The interior was dressed to impress, and the train quickly became the preferred choice for VIPs traveling between the capital cities. It was an embodiment of national unity…until Nazi Germany declared that Czechoslovakia had ceased to exist. The Strela was decommissioned.

But in May of 2021, hundreds of fans gathered to wave off the conductor (dressed with flawless historical accuracy) of the sleek, immaculate Slovak Arrow. Years of work had restored the train, enabling its journey to a museum, where it is exhibited within its own depot. The restoration was executed with extraordinary attention paid to detail: the seat upholstery; the tiles in the dining cabin; the nuts and bolts of the smoking (fajčiari) car.

The reemergence of the Slovak Arrow has been deeply symbolic for residents of both countries. And all those working to revive a train connecting land and people…well, their arrow hit the bull’s-eye.

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