New direct services, newer trains on both domestic and international lines, and attractive discounts for passengers – the largest railway transport carrier in the Czech Republic is introducing all these innovations in its new timetable, which comes into effect on December 14. The trains of České dráhy will now travel as far as the south of Austria and Copenhagen, Denmark. The number of modern trainsets on Czech railway lines will increase, the offer of barrier-free services will be extended, and travelling will become even more attractive thanks to the new ČD DAYS group discount.
Altogether 8,723 different ČD passenger trains are scheduled in the 2025/2026 timetable. The blue trains will travel an average of 327,000 kilometres every day – as if they were circumnavigating the entire Earth eight times a day.
“Next year, České dráhy will offer its customers even more comfortable and higher-quality travelling by train. The most important changes will occur in the area of long-distance transport. Thanks to the deployment of additional new ComfortJet trainsets, we will significantly improve the quality of our services provided on both international and domestic lines. For example, between Prague and Brno and back, you can travel with us 14 times a day on the board of ComfortJet trains and 16 times a day by the modern Railjet trains; nobody else can offer you such comfort. Other modern trains, this time RegioFox diesel multiple units, will be operating in the regions serviced by České dráhy, i.e. on the train services which people use every day to get to work or school,” says Michal Krapinec, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Director General of České dráhy, continuing: “Our aim is to increase attractiveness of the train journeys for more and more people. That is why, from mid-December, we are going to launch advance sales of new online discounts for small groups consisting of up to five passengers, who will save a quarter of the price when purchasing through our e-shop or our My Train app. This is a universal discount which can be combined with other special offers. You can also get the discount even if you are already traveling at a reduced fare. We have currently announced this discount for the period from January 1, 2026, to the end of March.”
Increased number of modern trains and more frequent services
In the upcoming timetable, České dráhy will have 38 modern integrated “Jet” (ComfortJet, Railjet, and InterJet) and “Pendolino” units at its disposal. The number of services under the international railjet premium train brand will increase to 51, which is 30 more than until now. Passengers can now easily recognise the type of premium trains even directly when searching for suitable train connections on the www.cd.cz website or in the My Train mobile app.
Besides an increase in quality, passengers can also look forward to more frequent train services on busy long-distance routes. For example, two new Jižní express InterCity trains will be added to the route from Prague to České Budějovice: Praha hl.n. (7:21) – České Budějovice (8:59) and České Budějovice (12:58) – Praha hl.n. (14:39). On working days and Sundays, there will also be a new Vltava fast train from České Budějovice (21:10) to Praha hl.n. (23:10), and the last train service from Linz, České Budějovice, and Tábor will now be approximately one hour later than at present.
Trains from Prague to Berlin or Vienna will also run more frequently, and this will apply from May 2026 to the trains to Hamburg as well.
Many improvements to trainsets will also be implemented in domestic transport thanks to the carriages which have been released from international lines following the delivery of the ComfortJet trainsets. Already this year, modern Ampz 1st class carriages have appeared on the Slovácký express trains to Luhačovice, and more air-conditioned carriages will be added to the Rožmberk and Labe fast trains as well.
The modernisation process will continue in the case of regional trains, too. This year the delivery of additional RegioFox trainsets is planned for the Central Bohemian and Hradec Králové Regions, and these trainsets will begin their operation from mid-December on such routes as from Hradec Králové to Letohrad or from Prague to Mělník and Mladá Boleslav, where they will replace aging diesel multiple units.
New lines to all existing destinations in the world
In cooperation with its foreign partners, České dráhy will offer even better rail interconnection with Europe. Starting in December, the ComfortJet trainsets will head to Villach in southern Austria, i.e. very close to the Slovenian and Italian borders. Then, starting in May next year, after more than 10 years, direct train service from Prague to Copenhagen will be restored. More trains will also run to the port city of Hamburg from May. “We will deploy higher-capacity trainsets on busy international lines and offer passengers modern Railjet and ComfortJet trainsets not only on routes to Austria and Germany, but newly also to southern Slovakia and Hungary,” adds Jiří Ješeta, Deputy Director General of České dráhy for Passenger Transport.
The number of night services to Poland will increase as well. A new pair of EuroNight Carpatia trains will run from Bohumín to Przemyśl. This night train will carry direct carriages from Munich and Vienna, from Prague and Budapest. The popular Baltic Express from Prague to the Polish Tricity will also see an improvement in quality, with a Czech dining car available throughout the entire route.
Better services for everyday travelling
Thanks to the ongoing modernisation of ČD trains, there will be a year-on-year improvement in services for passengers on the board of the trains, too. Altogether, 85% of all scheduled services will be barrier-free, and the number of trains where passengers can recharge their travel electronic devices from sockets and USB ports and also use connection to the internet via a Wi-Fi network will increase by almost 500. Bicycles can be transported on the board of all ČD trains.
Group travelling by trains operated by České dráhy is now more affordable than ever
With the new timetable, a new discount promotion for České dráhy passengers is coming to the www.cd.cz e-shop and also to the My Train mobile app. The ČD DAYS 25% discount will be available to small groups of passengers from two to five people, who will save 25% of the price of each ticket for all passengers in the group thanks to this discount. The discount will apply to domestic journeys when purchasing tickets online. The discount will be actively offered to passengers already when searching for connections, so that they can see directly how much they will save by using it. In the first stage, the discount will be valid from January to the end of March. “This is an ideal offer, for example, for a group of friends going on a weekend trip or for colleagues travelling together on a business trip. We will provide the discount in both the second and first carriage classes,” adds Michal Krapinec.
Author: Petr Pošta
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