Prague to Berlin in under 4 hours: Czech train travel gets a boost this weekend

From Sunday, Dec. 14, train travel between the main stations in Prague and Berlin will take less than four hours for the first time. The improvement follows the opening of the modernized Dresden railway section, allowing long-distance trains to bypass older routes and reach speeds up to 200 km/h.

Czech Railways ComfortJet trains will cover the main Prague–Berlin line in 3 hours 57 minutes, with journeys between Prague-Holešovice and Berlin-Südkreuz taking just 3 hours 39 minutes. The upgraded route also speeds connections to Berlin Brandenburg Airport, cutting travel times to 21–25 minutes.

“Thanks to the completion of modernization work on German infrastructure and the deployment of ComfortJet units, journeys between the Czech and German capitals will be roughly 15 minutes shorter,” Czech Railways spokesperson Filip Medelský told Novinky.cz.

The Dresden railway, originally built in the 1870s, had long been limited to local S-Bahn and freight services. Its reconstruction began in 2018 and faced legal challenges until 2017, finally allowing intercity trains to use the line.

The Prague–Berlin time reduction reflects years of infrastructure work and broader trends in Central European rail modernization. Further travel time improvements are expected between Prague and Hamburg once track upgrades allow speeds up to 230 km/h.

In addition to faster times between Prague and Berlin, Dec. 14 brings extensive timetable changes with new international connections from Czechia. Czech Railways is launching new night trains from Prague to Przemyśl in Poland, connecting with Ukrainian Railways services to Lviv, Kyiv, and Kharkiv.

International services to Villach, Vienna, Linz, Poznań, and, from May 2026, Copenhagen will also begin. Travel between Prague and Berlin will see more frequent departures, with additional routes planned to Hamburg.

Private carriers are also expanding services. RegioJet is introducing daily Prague–Warsaw trains and strengthening its Krakow–Warsaw line, with operations extending to the Tricity area.

Leo Express will run daily Prague–Krakow trains and plans to expand to Warsaw in 2026, while adding direct connections to Prešov and bus links to Uzhhorod and Mukachevo in Ukraine.

Domestic services are seeing upgrades as well. In Central Bohemia, RegioFox trains will operate on Mělník and Benešov routes. Liberec launches a fully modernized timetable for the Liberec–Hrádek nad Nisou–Zittau–Varnsdorf line.

In Ústí nad Labem, RegioPanter and Pesa units are being deployed, and international service to Dresden will run hourly instead of every two hours. Infrastructure improvements include a new transfer terminal at Klatovy in Pilsen, allowing barrier-free transfers between trains and buses.

South Moravia has added hourly weekend trains from Brno to Ivančice and Moravský Krumlov and restored the Pálava–Podyjí tourist line connecting Břeclav and Znojmo. Zlín is piloting all-door boarding on buses while replacing underused train lines with bus connections.

Alongside the timetable updates, Czech Railways is increasing fares slightly to match inflation, with a CZK 2–3 crown rise for short journeys and more for longer trips. A new 25 percent online discount for groups of 2–5 passengers will also be introduced.

RegioJet will largely maintain its current fares, while minor tariff adjustments are implemented regionally to accommodate new or enhanced services.

From Dec. 14, travelers across Czechia are advised to verify train schedules via smartphone apps or online to stay ahead of timetable adjustments and avoid missing new connections or changes to departure and arrival times.