Direct trains from Czech Republic to Europe are expanding as demand for international rail travel continues to grow.

A new direct service between Prague and Copenhagen launched in early May from Prague’s main railway station. The route is currently operating in a testing phase with one train per day in each direction. From June 14, frequency will increase to three daily services.

The train stops along the way in Ústí nad Labem, Dresden, Berlin and Hamburg, offering a long but continuous connection between Central Europe and the Danish capital.

According to Czech Railways, planned infrastructure improvements in Germany will also shorten travel times. A break in traffic between Berlin and Hamburg is expected to end on June 13, which should reduce the overall journey by around 40 minutes. The full trip from Prague to Copenhagen is expected to take approximately 11 hours and 45 minutes once the service is stabilised.

Rail connections to the Adriatic Sea are also returning this summer. Czech Railways, in cooperation with Poland’s PKP Intercity, is relaunching the Adriatic Express. The service runs from Warsaw through Ostrava towards the Slovenian port city of Koper and Rijeka in Croatia.

Capacity has been increased compared to last year with the addition of an extra carriage. From June 26, the service will operate six times per week until the end of August.

Direct rail travel to Croatia has been unstable in recent years. The private carrier RegioJet previously operated seasonal trains on this route, which were popular with Czech passengers. The company later replaced them with bus services. The decision was linked to operational delays and the difficulty of resolving disruptions on long international rail routes.

Direct international night trains to Western Europe are also growing. The European Sleeper service, which entered the Czech market in 2024, runs several times per week from Prague via Amsterdam and Antwerp to Brussels. The trains include sleeping cars designed for overnight travel, allowing passengers to cover long distances while travelling through the night.

Another operator, Leo Express, continues to expand services to Slovakia, Poland and Germany. The company has also introduced refurbished Talgo trains acquired after modernisation work in Spain. Their deployment has been accompanied by technical issues linked to component age and early operational adjustments on new routes.

Long-term demand for international rail travel is expected to increase. A 2025 study by Hitachi Rail found that 31 percent of Europeans would like to use trains more often for long-distance travel instead of cars or planes. Only 12 percent expressed a preference against this shift.

Would you like us to write about your business? Find out more