The Ministry of Transport of the Czech Republic and České dráhy have concluded, one year in advance, a ten-year contract for the provision of public passenger transport services by public rail on the Ex 32 Prague – Pardubice – Lichkov state border (– Poland) line for the period of the 2025 to 2034 timetables. This contract represents a significant step towards strengthening the international connections and will enable the Czech capital Prague and Eastern Bohemia to be linked with the Polish cities of Wroclaw, Poznan, Bydgoszcz, Gdansk and Gdynia by a direct train service.
“We are continuously working on improvement of transport links between the Czech Republic and our neighbours in all modes of transport. We pay particular attention to environment-friendly railway transport, its acceleration, increasing the capacity of railway lines and introducing new high-quality connections. This strategy includes also creation of a new Czech-Polish line linking Prague and eastern Bohemia with the western part of Poland, including such tourist destinations as Wroclaw and the Baltic coast. Such a link has been missing for a long time. Until now, long-distance connections to Poland have only been operated via Bohumín. I am convinced that this Czech-Polish cooperation will boost mutual tourist industry activities and other economic relations,” says Martin Kupka, Minister of Transport of the Czech Republic.
“The award of the contract for the operation of this new line to Czech Railways proves that we are able to prepare a high-quality and attractively priced offer. On this line we will cooperate with our Polish partner ‘PKP Intercity’ and together we will provide the usual comfort of the EuroCity trains, such as air-conditioned carriages, Internet access via the on-board Wi-Fi network or the possibility of power supply for passengers’ travel electronics. The journey between Prague and Wroclaw in Poland should take around 4 hours, which is considerably less than in the past,” says Michal Krapinec, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Director General of České dráhy.
Comfort and high-quality service
Trains running on the Ex 32 Prague – Pardubice – Wroclaw – Gdynia line will be operated by air-conditioned carriages of the EuroCity standard of the České dráhy and PKP Intercity carriers. The carriages will offer approximately 250 seats and will be equipped for transporting wheelchaired passengers, prams and bicycles. Passengers will be offered a range of services at their disposal, including the Internet access via the on-board Wi-Fi network and an offer of refreshments. This will initially be in the form of a delivery service, and from the 2026 timetable, there are plans for deployment of a dining car or a bistro car, which will further enhance the travel comfort experience.
Improvement of accessibility and journey times
The journey between Prague and Wroclaw on this line should take about 4 hours and between Prague and Gdynia about 9 hours. In the Czech Republic, in addition to Prague, the train stops are planned also in Kolín, Pardubice, Ústí nad Orlicí, Letohrad, Jablonné nad Orlicí and Lichkov. Trains will depart four times a day from both ends of the route at 4-hour intervals. The exact train routes will be a part of the preparation of the 2025 timetable.
The new Ex 32 Prague – Pardubice – Wroclaw – Gdynia railway line represents a significant step towards strengthening the international train services between the Czech Republic and Poland. It will offer passengers modern comfort, fast transport and a wide range of services. In 2009, a pair of Prague – Wroclaw direct fast trains was running via Hradec Králové with a journey time of approximately 6.5 hours. In 2010, a pair of the Orlice trains in the Pardubice – Wroclaw route was running. When travelling from Prague, a transfer was necessary and the fastest connection took more than 5 hours. The new trains will thus offer a substantially faster and better-quality connection between the Czech and Lower Silesian capital cities than in the past. The journey from Prague and Bohemia to Gdansk on the Ex 32 line will then be approximately 3 hours faster than the currently available journey via Bohumín and Warsaw.
Author: Tiskové oddělení Českých drah
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