Next Stop, Ukraine: RegioJet Abandons Traditional Prague-Croatia Service

After a successful four-year run, Czech carrier RegioJet has made the strategic decision to discontinue its seasonal Prague-Croatia railway service.

Instead, the company is steering its focus to Ukraine, according to statements from the company’s director, Radim Jančura, to Zdopravy.cz.

However, RegioJet is gearing up to enhance its bus services to Croatia, aiming to offset the void left by the canceled trains. Buses from Prague to Split will be in operation daily throughout the summer of 2024.

The transformation began in the summer of 2023, as the company reduced the number of trains to Croatia, reallocating resources to the route from Prague to the Ukrainian border. Jančura stated, “We are now prioritizing year-round connections to Ukraine.”

The Czech private operator aims to start service to Ukraine in January 2024 with an overnight flight from Prague to Chop, operating through the Cerná nad Tisou border crossing in Slovakia.

The new route will utilize a 37-kilometer stretch of standard gauge track from the border to Chop and onward to Mukachevo in Ukraine.

Departing from Prague Main Station at 21:38, the trains will reach Chop at 10:35, with the return journey departing Chop at 17:30 and arriving in Prague at 05:07.

Given that RegioJet lacks a license to operate in Ukraine, the new flight will be a collaborative effort with Ukrainian Railways (Ukrzaliznytsia).

RegioJet introduced a direct train from Prague to Croatia in the summer of 2020, during severe air travel restrictions due to the coronavirus epidemic.

The affordability of tickets and high demand for the destination made this mode of travel popular among passengers.