New ČD Railjet rail routes

The new passenger train timetable, effective from 14 December 2025, will bring significant changes in the operation of rolling stock on the international routes operated by the Czech Railways JSC (ČD JSC). This is due to the expansion of the long-distance train fleet with the incorporation of ComfortJet trains into it. These trains, together with the older Railjet trains, will provide greater capacity in the Railjet category, while EC (EuroCity) trains will be removed from the timetable.

The Railjet trains will then also operate on the routes to Germany (with only one pair of trains currently in service), Slovakia and Hungary. The Railjet trains and the new ComfortJet trains will operate under the same brand.

“In order to make it clear when looking at the timetable that the relevant trains are operated by our best rolling stock, they will all run as the Railjet international train category”, said Michal Krapinec, CEO and Chairman of the Board of the ČD JSC.

In the first half of 2026, it is planned to complete the delivery of ComfortJet non-traction trains, as a result of which the ČD JSC will have all 180 modern coaches in 20 trains. Thanks to this, more modern air-conditioned coaches will run on other lines, and other services on ČD JSC trains will be expanded.

Most trains on the Berliner, Vindobona and Metropolitan lines from Prague to Germany, Austria, Slovakia and Hungary will be classified as Railjet. The EuroCity (EC) designation will remain on some trains on the Metropolitan line, for which coaches are provided by ŽSSK (Železničná spoločnosť Slovensko). For example, the Hungaria train from Budapest to Kiel, the Vindobona from Hamburg to Vienna via Prague, and the domestic Brněnský Drak will also be operated by the Railjet trains.

The ČD JSC previously announced the extension of the Berliner line to Copenhagen from May 2026 to be operated with two pairs of trains. Now, trains that previously terminated in Berlin will also run to Hamburg.

Another train will depart from Hamburg and Berlin two hours later than now: from Hamburg after 5 p.m. and from Berlin after 7 p.m., with scheduled arrival in Prague before midnight. In the opposite direction, an evening train will depart from Prague to Dresden, leaving Prague before 9 p.m. The journey time will be reduced by up to several dozens of minutes. The journey from Prague to Berlin will take about 4 hours, and to Hamburg – about 6 hours. The ComfortJet trains will reach a maximum speed of 230 km/h on the Berlin-Hamburg section.

The carrier also confirmed the launch of the Railjet trains to Villach (Austria). The extension of the Vindobona line to the borders with Italy and Slovenia will be made possible with the opening of the 127-km Koralmbahn high-speed line, which will allow trains to run at speeds of 250 km/h (160 km/h in tunnels). Three new pairs of trains will run daily on the route Prague – Brno – Vienna – Graz – Klagenfurt – Villach, which is an important transport hub in southern Austria for travel to Slovenia and Italy. Carinthia, with its lakes and mountains, is also a popular summer and winter holiday destination (e.g. Wörthersee, Nassfeld).

Direct trains will depart from Prague to southern Austria at approximately 6:37, 10:37 and 14:37, and will arrive at Prague Main Station from the federal state of Carinthia at approximately 13:23, 19:23 and 23:32. The journey time between the stations of departure and arrival will be approximately 8 hours. The trains will also pass through the 33-kilometre-long Koralm Tunnel, the fourth longest railway tunnel in Europe.

Another innovation will be a later connection between Prague and Vienna by a direct Railjet train running on the route Hamburg – Berlin – Prague – Vienna, which will depart from Prague at approximately 7:30 p.m., an hour later than the last direct train from Prague to Vienna at the moment.

Supply of high-speed Vectron locomotives for the ČD JSC

Over the past few years, the rolling stock fleet of the ČD JSC has been operating modern Siemens Vectron locomotives, the number of which currently stands at 61, and in the near future, new-generation locomotives with a maximum speed of 230 km/h are expected to arrive. The first eight locomotives are to be delivered by the end of September, and another twelve by the end of 2025.

“In this way, the Czech Railways JSC will become the first carrier in the world to incorporate these high-speed locomotives from the Vectron family into its fleet. Along with the new locomotives, which will be labelled as the 384 series in the Czech Republic, we are looking forward to introducing the modern ComfortJet and Railjet trains”, said Michal Krapinec, CEO and Chairman of the Board of the ČD JSC. In total, the ČD JSC ordered 50 such locomotives. The first twenty will be put into operation by the end of this year, and full delivery is planned for the end of 2026. The carrier plans to use them primarily on prestigious international long-distance routes to Germany, Austria, Denmark and Hungary, where sections of lines for speeds of 200 km/h and above are already in operation or are being prepared for construction. In the future, they will also be used on the first sections of Czech high-speed lines.

These locomotives for the Czech Railways are manufactured at the Siemens Mobility plant in Munich-Allach.

The Siemens Vectron multi-system locomotives, which can reach speeds of up to 230 km/h, feature the latest technological solutions in the field of interoperable railway transport, which makes it possible to operate them on both conventional and high-speed lines throughout Europe.

The Siemens Vectron locomotives are among the most popular electric locomotives in Europe. By the end of July 2025, more than 2290 of them had received firm orders.