A gradual return to faster travel and other connections from Prague
The 2023 timetable will mark a gradual return to shorter journey times on corridors where extensive investment has been completed. Record-short journey times will be introduced thanks to the completed interchanges on the 4th corridor between Prague and České Budějovice. Czech Railways, in cooperation with its foreign partners, will offer a new connection from Prague to Vienna via Tábor and from Prague to Zurich via Dresden and Basel. More connections will also head to Žilina, the direct connection between Prague and Krakow will be expanded, and the German port city of Rostock will be the new destination in the north.
“In the 2023 timetable, we will continue to improve our offer in long-distance and interstate transport, we want to reach out to other customers and find them an ecological alternative to traveling by car or bus. Instead of standing in queues, looking for free parking spaces and driving a car, there is an alternative in the form of modern trains in which you can work on a laptop, surf the Internet, watch movies or simply read while drinking coffee.” he says Michal Krapinec, chairman of the board and general manager of Czech Railways. In connection with the 2023 timetable, it adds: “I have the best news for customers traveling between Prague and the South Bohemian Region. Thanks to the opening of two interchanges on the 4th corridor, travel times there are significantly reduced. There, the train will no longer be ‘Cinderella’, but a real solution for transportation to meetings, work or entertainment.”
Record speed to the south of Bohemia and a new connection via Tábor to Vienna
EuroCity / InterCity connections can handle the route Prague – České Budějovice in 1 hour 40 minutes, and from Prague to Tábor in 59 minutes. They will be 2 minutes slower in the opposite direction. The journey between Prague and the Danube Corridor to Linz will also be shortened from the current 4 hours 17 minutes to 3 hours 45 minutes. In Linz there are transfer connections to trains to Salzburg, Innsbruck, Zurich, Villach and other places in southern and western Europe.
“The reduction of travel times on the 4th corridor opens up new possibilities for the development of tourism in the south of Bohemia, but also offers new opportunities for South Bohemia, which will improve the conditions for regular commuting to work or study in the capital,” complements Jiří Ješetamember of the board of directors and deputy general director for passenger transport of Czech Railways.
On the route Prague – České Budějovice / České Velenice, express trains will also run for a shorter time, which, compared to EC / IC trains, stop at an additional 7 stations. They can travel between Prague and the South Bohemian metropolis in 2 hours and 5 minutes, i.e. 16 minutes faster than in the current timetable.
Comparison of travel times in 2022 and 2023 |
||||
section |
EC / IC – 2022 |
EC / IC – 2023 |
express car – 2022 |
express car – 2023 |
Prague – Tábor |
1 hour 14 minutes |
59 min. |
1 hour 26 minutes |
1 hour 13 minutes |
Prague – České Budějovice |
1 hour 58 minutes |
1 hour 40 minutes |
2 hours 21 minutes |
2 hours 5 minutes. |
Two pairs of new express trains will also run on Corridor 4 Silva Norticawhich will connect Prague and Vienna via South Bohemia and the Austrian region of Waldviertel. A couple of trains Wien FJB (9:00 a.m.) – Prague hl.n. (14:12 / 17:46) – Wien FJB (22:55) will run daily and the second pair of trains to Prague hl.n. (7:46) – Wien FJB (12:55 / 15:00) – Prague hl.n. (20:12) will run the entire route on weekends. On the remaining days of the week, it runs in the section Prague – České Velenice – Prague.
To Zurich by the northern route, to the Baltic also to Rostock
“Together with foreign partners, we are also participating in the renaissance of European night transport. To the connections from Prague to Budapest, Košice and Humenné, to Krakow and Warsaw and to Zurich via Austria, we are adding a second connection on the route Prague – Zurich. It will go via Dresden and Leipzig and offer connections to the south-east of Germany and to Basel in Switzerland. In the section Prague – Leipzig, it will function as a daily connection and offer travel to the trade fair metropolis. says Jiří Ješeta.
The train will travel in our territory in the EuroCity category under the name Canopus and will leave Prague at 6:25 p.m. It will stop in Ústí nad Labem, Děčín and continue via Dresden, Leipzig, Karlsruhe, Freiburg and Basel to Zurich (9:05 a.m.). In the opposite direction, it will depart from Zurich at 7:59 p.m. and arrive in Prague at 9:35 a.m. On the route Prague – Zurich, it will offer travel in comfortable sleeping cars, including Deluxe compartments with private sanitary facilities, seats and showers, a couchette car for sitting and transportation bicycles.
Unfortunately, similar to the night connection to Zurich via Austria or the EuroCity connection from Prague to Berlin and Hamburg, the operation of this train will be limited on some days of the year due to road closures and track repairs abroad. The exact travel period will be available in the 2023 timetables.
In the direction to the north, the connection is extended to Rostock by the Baltic Sea. It will be served by a couple of EC 178 / 179 trains Berliner. It will depart for Rostock from Prague at 6:25 a.m. and arrive at the destination station at 1:19 p.m. Route EC 179 will depart from Rostock at 2:31 p.m. and arrive in Prague at 9:35 p.m. It will offer the usual train services on board Berliner including restaurant car or bicycle transport.
From Prague to Moravia again a little faster
The end of several extensive closures on the corridor from Prague to Česká Třebová and on to Brno this year and next year will mean the gradual return of trains on the 1st and 3rd railway corridors to their original routes and faster travel times.
Slovak express AND Svitava will leave Prague 21 minutes later and Wallachian Express and EuroCity / InterCity trains Silesia or Krakow then 13 minutes later. The departure of SuperCity and InterCity trains will be shifted 9 minutes later Ostrava AND Opavan, in Olomouc, however, these connections will already be at similar times as now. The travel time from Prague to Moravia will thus be shortened by approximately 10 to 20 minutes, e.g. the SuperCity Pendolino trains have a planned travel time between Prague and Ostrava-Svinov of 3 hours and 3 minutes. Slovak express has a planned journey time from Prague to Olomouc of 2 hours 27 minutes, i.e. 18 minutes less and express trains Svitava they can make the journey from Prague to Česká Třebová in a quarter of an hour faster.
The first daily fast connection from Prague to Olomouc and Ostrava will be the new SuperCity Pendolino train from Košice with departure from Prague main station at 6:00 a.m. and arrived in Ostrava-Svinov at 9:08 a.m., which is about half an hour earlier than this year. This will certainly be appreciated especially by people who will go from Prague or Pardubice on a one-day trip to Olomouc or Ostrava.
In the opposite direction from Moravia to Prague, the times of departures and arrivals are moved by the order of individual minutes, and the reduction of travel times is usually between 7 and 17 minutes, e.g. the SuperCity Pendolino connections will go to Prague 4 minutes faster compared to the current timetable (3 hours 13 min.), EuroCity / InterCity trains Ostrava, Silesia AND Krakow they will drive for 11 minutes less time (3 hours 23 minutes) a Slovak express from Olomouc to Prague about 14 minutes faster (2 hours 34 minutes). Trains Svitava from Česká Třebová to Prague will save 14 minutes (1 hour 50 minutes).
Due to the absence of one Pendolino unit and due to the planned installation of ETCS in these trains, there will be adjustments in the circulation of the units and thus the operation of the SuperCity connections between Prague and Ostrava.
More connections to Žilina and easier to Krakow
By extending trains IC 520 / 521 Wallachian Express the offer of connections to/from Žilina via Wallachia will be improved. Current train IC 521 Wallachian Express Prague – Vsetín will leave Prague as train EC 223 at 5:15 p.m. and from Vsetín it will continue to Horní Lidče, Púchov and Žilina, where it will arrive at 10:29 p.m. In the opposite direction, it will depart from Žilina at 5:23 a.m. and via Púchov, Horní Lideč and Vsetín will go to Prague, where it will arrive at 10:45 a.m.
Another option will be to expand the current direct connection between Prague and Krakow by introducing direct trains that will run from Prague on route EC 113 Silesia with departure from Prague at 6:15, which will continue from Bohumín on train 213 Galicia (so far train 301) arriving in Kraków at 13:16. In the opposite direction, this connection will depart at 2:42 p.m. (train 212 Galicia) and direct trains will arrive in Prague on train EC 112 Silesia at 9:45 p.m.
From Prague to Brno again along the corridor from summer 2023
A significant change in timetables will then come on July 1, 2023, when railjet trains will be rerouted Vindobona EuroCity Metropolitan / Hungary from Vysočina to the corridor via Pardubice. Railjet trains Vindobona then they will stop regularly between Prague and Brno only at stations Pardubice hl.n. and Česká Třebová, EuroCity connections Metropolitan / Hungary then in the stations Kolín and Pardubice hl.n. Compared to the first half of 2023, the travel time from Brno to Prague will be reduced by 24 to 26 minutes to 2 hours 33 minutes, in the opposite direction by 21 minutes to 2 hours 35 minutes.
Express trains of the R19 line Svitava will return to its entire usual route Prague – Brno after the closure of the corridor near Blansko with a new timetable from 11 December. Route Brno hl.n. – Prague hl.n. they can handle express trains with 12 stops in 3 hours and 9 minutes, they will travel in the opposite direction in 2 hours and 59 minutes.
EuroCity and express train from Ostrava to Žilina every two hours
A more regular distribution of long-distance train routes occurs on the line from Ostrava via Český Těšín and Náví (Nawsie) to Čadek and Žilina. They will depart from Ostrava-Svinov from 5 am to 9 pm at intervals of two hours. Departures from Ostrava’s Svinov are scheduled at odd hours between 40 and 50 minutes. Connections will provide traffic here Kysučan (so far marked as Father) Ostrava – Žilina and back and Ostrava Prague – Žilina / Návsí (Nawsie) and back. There will be trains in the opposite direction Kysučan AND Ostrava depart from Žilina every two hours from 6:34 a.m. to 8:34 p.m., the first morning service in this direction will leave at 5:03 a.m. from Návsí (Nawsie).
Due to changes in Slovakia, all current trains will be Father shortened from / to Žilina and renamed connections Kysučan. For the next trip to Banská Bystrica or Zvolen, a transfer in Žilina will be necessary. Due to the reconstruction of the Žilina railway station during 2023, however, it will be necessary to allow for the transfer time.
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