150 International Express Trains of České dráhy Are Heading to 120 Foreign Destinations

This year, České dráhy operates 148 international long-distance train services and another 4 seasonal trains to Poland, serving 120 different destinations in six European countries: namely Germany, Austria, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Switzerland. More than 7 million passengers a year use the international trains of the largest Czech railway carrier.

“In international transport, we traditionally cooperate with our foreign partners and thanks to this fact we offer regular services several times a day on most lines. For example, from Prague to Berlin, Vienna or Budapest we travel together with our colleagues from DB, ÖBB, ZSSK and MÁV every two hours, whilst to Linz or Wrocław we have connections at four-hour intervals. Most of our neighbours’ capitals, i.e. Berlin, Bratislava and Vienna, can be reached comfortably by train in around 4 hours. Practically all trains are at the EuroCity or InterCity level and offer many services on the board of the train, such as on-board Wi-Fi, dining car services, seats for passengers with children, wheelchair or bicycle transport. The Railjet and (more recently) also ComfortJet trains, which we are gradually putting into service, represent a premium offer. In the future, these trains will dominate connections to the north of Germany, to Austria and to Bratislava and Budapest. They will also enable us to offer direct journeys to more destinations, such as Copenhagen in Denmark,” says Michal Krapinec, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Director General of České dráhy.

A new feature of the 2025 timetable is the international Baltic Express Iine operated in cooperation with PKP Intercity. Traditional lines include the Berliner trains (Prague – Berlin – Hamburg / Kiel / Flensburg, the Vindobona services (Prague – Brno – Vienna – Graz), the Metropolitan trains (Prague – Brno – Bratislava – Budapest) or the Wallachian express (Prague – Pardubice – Olomouc – Púchov). As far as other frequented lines are concerned, it is necessary to mention such train services as Prague – Ostrava – Warsaw / Krakow / Przemyśl, or Košičan trains (Prague – Ostrava – Žilina – Košice) or Southern Express trains (Prague – České Budějovice – Linz). From the European point of view, the line connecting Poland with Austria on the Warsaw / Przemyśl / Krakow – Ostrava – Přerov – Břeclav – Vienna / Bratislava / Budapest route is also very important.

At a speed of one hundred and sixty here, while abroad even two hundred

České dráhy also cooperates closely on the operation of five core night trains with sleepers and couchette carriages. These trains provide a direct connection between Prague and Zurich, Warsaw, Košice and Budapest in the form of a so-called night jump, where the customers stay in a comfortable sleeping car at the beginning of their journey in the evening and wake up at their destination in the morning. In addition to the services departing from Prague, České dráhy also cooperates on night trains connecting Vienna or Budapest with Warsaw and Berlin or Warsaw with Munich. Within the framework of European long-distance international transport, the junctions in Prague, Břeclav and Bohumín are therefore of great importance, where transfers or even direct carriage shunting between international lines are ensured.

The international trains of České dráhy belong among the fastest trains in the Czech Republic. At a maximum speed of 160 km/h, they reach a cruising average speed of up to 100 km/h. On foreign sections they normally reach speeds of up to 200 km/h. Thanks to this fact, they transport passengers from Prague to Berlin, Vienna, Bratislava, Wrocław or Linz in about 4 hours. Train journeys to Hamburg, Poprad-Tatry, Budapest or Graz take less than 7 hours. Other Czech cities also have good international connections. From Brno, for example, it takes about 1.5 hours to get to Vienna or Bratislava, and about 4 hours to Budapest or Graz. From Ostrava, it takes less than 3 hours to reach Vienna by train, about 3 hours to Krakow, about 4.5 hours to Warsaw and 3.5 hours to Poprad-Tatry.

Early purchase means a lower price of fare

For international journeys, First Minute Europe tickets are the most advantageous variants. They work similarly to airline tickets on the principle of “the earlier you buy, the cheaper you travel”. Advance ticket sales and bookings are usually 2 to 6 months, depending on the route and the conditions of the international partners. For example, it is now possible to buy the most advantageous tickets for services to Germany and Austria in July. If you buy early, you can travel e.g. from Prague to Berlin from CZK 435, to Frankfurt am Main from CZK 666, to Vienna from CZK 474, to Budapest from CZK 653 or to Warsaw from CZK 614, from Brno to Berlin from CZK 717, to Graz from CZK 653 or to Budapest from CZK 422, or from Ostrava to Vienna from CZK 346, to Warsaw from CZK 486 or to Budapest from CZK 550.

Thanks to transfers to connecting services of partner carriers, it is possible to travel by train to other several hundred destinations almost all over Europe, including the use of fast trains, such as the ICE services of the German DB carrier. Important transfer hubs for our trains include Vienna, Linz, Munich, Dresden and Berlin. Train connections at these hubs and First Minute Europe tickets make it possible to travel to other destinations also in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Slovenia, Croatia, Denmark or Switzerland, for example. 

You can also take advantage of other discounts and offers, e.g. for sightseeing trips in Europe, Interrail network tickets are available at different price levels according to the target group of passengers (adults, seniors, youth), according to the country visited, or tickets for the whole network of Europe and according to the length of validity of the ticket.

Details of international services and offers can be found e.g. on the carrier’s website www.cd.cz.