From May next year, České dráhy, in cooperation with Deutsche Bahn and Danish State Railways DSB, will offer a new direct international train service between Prague, Berlin, Hamburg and Copenhagen. Two pairs of trains a day will operate all year round, with a third pair being added during the summer season. Passengers can look forward to travelling by the ComfortJet, which is the most modern trainset for long-distance transport. The journey time between Prague and Copenhagen will be approximately 11 hours. The completion of the Fehmarn Belt Undersea Tunnel in the coming years will further reduce the journey time.
The planned new connection represents the first implemented line of a total of ten pilot projects launched by the European Commission to support cross-border railway connections.
“The agreement to launch a new international train service to Copenhagen demonstrates the strong position of České dráhy on the European railway transport market. The cooperation with Deutsche Bahn and Danske Statsbaner opens up a comfortable and direct train service for Czech passengers to the Danish capital and other destinations in Scandinavia,” says Michal Krapinec, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Director General of České dráhy, continuing: “We are also highly delighted by the fact that our German and Danish colleagues have placed their trust in us and that we will be operating the entire line with our state-of-the-art ComfortJets. This means that passengers can look forward to uncompromising comfort and top-quality cuisine in our dining car. Once the extensive renovation of the railway line between Berlin and Hamburg is complete, our ComfortJet will run there at a speed of 230 km/h, making it the fastest regular train in the history of České dráhy.”
The line, passing through three countries, will be operated in mutual cooperation by three national carriers – České dráhy, Deutsche Bahn (DB) and Danske Statsbaner (DSB). The trains will depart from Prague all year round at approximately 6:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., and during the summer season also at 4:30 p.m.
“Europe continues to become increasingly interconnected by railways. International long-distance services with journey times of over four hours currently register growing passengers’ interest. We are responding to this demand by expanding our offer of attractive train services. Our growth strategy in the field of international long-distance transport proves to be successful,” adds Michael Peterson, Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of Deutsche Bahn Fernverkehr, commenting the announced new line.
"We greatly value the strong and close collaboration between DB, CD and DSB, which enables us to make it easier and more convenient for customers to travel sustainably through Europe. We are able to offer more and better opportunities to take the train and explore Europe's rich history and culture. It is a partnership we are proud to be a part of," says Charlotte Kjærulff, Customer Manager at the Danish transport company DSB.
The railway carriers suppose that they will start selling tickets six months before the launching of the operation of the international line.
In autumn, a test run of the ComfortJet to Copenhagen will take place to familiarise DB and DSB employees with the ComfortJet trainsets and to test the train’s technology and operating characteristics. The staff from the partner transport companies will manage the train operation in Germany and Denmark. Only the dining car crew will travel the entire route.
Direct train service between Prague and Copenhagen is being restored after more than 10 years. The last direct night trains to the North of the European Continent were running during the 2014 timetable. Since then, passengers travelling to Denmark have had to change trains in Hamburg, Germany.
Within the framework of this year's timetable, České dráhy is operating 148 international long-distance services and four additional seasonal trains to Poland, serving more than 120 different destinations in eight European countries: Germany, Austria, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Switzerland, and thanks to the new Adriatic Express train service operated by the Polish carrier “PKP Intercity”, also in Slovenia and Croatia.
Train connection for more than 15 million people
In the early 1990s, Prague and Copenhagen were connected by the Neptun express train “Prague – Berlin – Warnemünde – Copenhagen”, which used the oldest ferry service between the port of Warnemünde in Germany and Gedser in Denmark. It covered the approximately 850 km long route during around 14 hours. Between 2012 and 2014, there was a direct night train service between Prague and Copenhagen with sleepers and couchette carriages.
The new train services between Prague, Berlin, Hamburg and Copenhagen will cover the longer route in 11 hours thanks to the modernised infrastructure. In the future, after the opening of the undersea tunnel between Germany and Denmark and the introduction of higher speeds on other railway sections, e.g. from Dresden to Berlin, travel times will be significantly reduced.
The new train service will not bring benefits only to passengers travelling between the three capitals of the Czech Republic, Germany and Denmark. The trains will also serve other important economic, political and cultural centres, such as Ústí nad Labem, Dresden, Hamburg and Odense. More than 15 million people live in the metropolitan areas and other stops along the train route. Thanks to the connecting services, new opportunities for journeys from Scandinavia to southern and central Europe and vice versa are opening up.
ComfortJet in points
- Large-space air-conditioned interior,
- Pressure-tightness of the entire trainset (especially important when travelling at higher speeds) protecting passengers from pressure surges and thus ear discomfort when passing through tunnels or meeting trainsets running in an opposite direction, while helping to create a quiet and clean interior for a long time,
- End carriage with a possibility of a frontal passage to possible supporting carriages,
- Internal accessibility, including wide permanently open inter-carriage gangways, automatic sliding doors between compartments and boarding areas operated by a photocell,
- Push-button operated boarding doors and a selective unlocking system for the boarding doors, which allows the doors to be centrally closed and locked against opening before the train starts to go and unlocked after the train has stopped (on the platform side only),
- Ergonomic adjustable seats in the first carriage class in a 2+1 configuration with leather covering and in the second carriage class in a 2+2 configuration with textile covering, the seats are situated behind each other (aircraft configuration) as well as opposite each other (vis-à-vis),
- Folding tables at the seats behind each other and fixed tables between the seats in the configuration opposite each other,
- Overhead shelves for normal luggage and racks for large luggage,
- Individual reading lights integrated into the luggage shelves in both the 1st and 2nd carriage classes,
Wireless mobile phone chargers in the 1st carriage class, - 230 V sockets and USB A-type and C-type connectors for the power supply of passengers’ portable electronics,
- Innovative window technology to allow mobile phone signals to pass more easily into the trainset while maintaining the thermal insulation properties of the glass, retractable sun blinds in the windows,
- retractable roller blinds installed in windows against the sun radiation,
- Wireless data Wi-Fi network for the internet connection,
- Entertainment and information on-board portal,
- Electronic audiovisual information system with LCD monitors and an electronic reservation system,
- Wheelchair accessible travel solution including 3 wheelchair spaces for passengers with impaired mobility, wheelchair accessible toilet, electric lifting platforms for wheelchair boarding/deboarding and sockets for recharging electric wheelchair batteries, folding tables for wheelchair passengers,
- For the blind and partially sighted passengers, the train is equipped with haptic buttons and Braille signs and also with remote control of the entrance doors via a blind transmitter,
- Children’s movie, children’s board game in designated areas, a folding counter for changing baby nappies, places to store prams,
- Storage space for 12 bicycles and large luggage,
- At one end, the unit is equipped with a traditional UIC interface which allows connection and passage to other cars of the conventional construction,
- Approved for operation in the Czech Republic as well as surrounding European countries (Germany, Poland, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary and Denmark),
- Fire protection system and an emergency brake override system to enable operation in very long tunnels, such as the Koralm Tunnel (32.9 km), Semmering Base Tunnel (27.3 km) or Fehmarn Belt Tunnel (17.6 km),
- Possibility of operation on high-speed lines,
- Trainset configuration: Front control car of the 1st carriage class, inserted carriage of the 1st carriage class, inserted carriage with a dining compartment and the 2nd carriage class compartment, inserted multi-purpose carriage of the 2nd carriage class (children’s movie, wheelchair passenger spaces, etc.), 4 inserted carriages of the 2nd carriage class, end carriage of the 2nd carriage class (bicycle transport compartment),
- In its complete configuration, a ComfortJet trainset has 99 seats in the 1st carriage class, 456 seats in the 2nd carriage class,
- Dining compartment with 18 seats and a possibility of buying hot or cold meals and other refreshments during the journey, with a modern kitchen with chilled food technology and a multi-modal convection oven for heating meals, a coffee machine, a beer tapping system and a dishwasher for environment-friendly reusable dishes.
Author: Petr Pošta
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