Since the introduction of the Railjet service in 2014 on Vienna – Prague rail route, the number of passengers has increased by more than 40%. The Austrian Railways ÖBB and České dráhy (ČD) celebrated the anniversary journey on June 24, 2024.
“The introduction of Railjet train services between Vienna and Prague has brought a clear increase in comfort in the field of international transport between the Czech Republic and Austria. The success of the joint offer of ÖBB and České dráhy has been reflected in a significant growth of the number of passengers. That is why we want to further expand the capacity offered on this important link in the upcoming years,” Andreas Matthä, Director General of ÖBB, said.
The line from Prague, Brno, Vienna and Graz, is served up to 8 times a day jointly by ÖBB Railjets and ČD Railjets with one daily connection offered beyond Prague to Dresden and Berlin.
“Modern trains, high-quality offer, competitive and therefore attractive journey times, as well as regular timetable intervals have attracted thousands of new passengers to railway transport. I am convinced that in the upcoming years we will be able to expand the offer of direct services between the Czech Republic and Austria and to create conditions for intensified economic, cultural and tourist cooperation between the two countries,” Michal Krapinec, Director General of ČD said.
10 years of Vienna – Prague trains
In June 2014, the first Railjets started running between Prague, Vienna and Wiener Neustadt. The new Prague – Vienna – Graz line was introduced in December 2014 with a two-hour interval of 7 pairs of trainsets in a cross-border transport service. In the 2018 timetable, the offer was extended with an additional pair of trains.
Since the introduction of the train connection on Vienna – Prague rail route, travel times have been reduced and mobility between the two European capitals has improved. The journey time from Prague to Vienna is currently 4:05 hours, from Prague to Graz it is 6:49 hours and from Brno it takes 1:27 hours to reach Vienna.
In addition to the Prague – Brno – Vienna – Graz Railjet services, ČD and ÖBB offer other connections between Prague and Vienna through the South Bohemian Region and Waldviertel within the framework of their cooperation. From Prague, direct trains run twice a day via Tábor and Gmünd (NÖ) to the Wien FJB railway station.
Railjet units have offered a new, significantly higher quality of travelling by train also between the largest cities of the Czech Republic, namely Prague and Brno. “Although the railway corridor between Prague and Brno is a quarter longer than the D1 motorway, Railjet trains have succeeded in attracting many passengers who used to travel between the two cities by car, especially thanks to their speed, comfort and service guarantee. In ten years, we have transported more than 22 million passengers in the Czech Republic, and the interest in travelling on the Prague – Pardubice – Brno – Břeclav route has increased by more than 40 percent,” said Jiří Ješeta, ČD Deputy Director General for Passenger Transport.
In addition to Prague and Brno, the Railjet trains also stop in Pardubice, Česká Třebová and Břeclav, offering a fast and comfortable connection between eastern Bohemia and Southern Moravia. The operation of modern trains thus provides benefits not only to passengers in international transport segments, but also to most of all citizens in the Czech Republic on their domestic journeys.
The Railjet services offer travelling in air-conditioned carriages. These trainsets include a restaurant car, passengers have a minibar at their disposal during the journey, and can use on-board Wi-Fi network, infotainment portals, sockets and USB connectors for charging their travel electronics. The trains provide a children’s cinema for the youngest passengers, while wheelchair users have a possibility of using a boarding ramp and dedicated comfort seats, and there are also special areas on the train for storing prams and bicycles. In the future, there are also plans to equip blue Railjets with repeaters to improve the reception of incoming telephone calls inside the trains.
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