Prague to establish new night train routes to Paris, Rome, and elsewhere

The City of Prague will enter negotiations with train operators on new overnight rail connections to a variety of European destinations, according to Deputy Mayor for Transport Adam Scheinherr.

The new routes would cover destinations that are between 800 and 1,500 kilometers from Prague. That includes popular European locales such as Amsterdam, Brussels, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Milan, Paris, Rome, and Venice.

Prague's location in central Europe makes it an ideal hub for traveling to a variety of locations throughout most of the continent. 

“Prague has a great location for night trains. We want to motivate carriers to start traveling to Prague," Scheinherr stated in a press release.

"Night train travel offers safety and comfort when traveling throughout Europe, including private compartments with a bed and shower. In addition, it has its own specific charm."

In order to entice carriers to launch the new routes, the city will offer financial support and marketing solutions, according to Scheinherr.

Once a popular option throughout much of Europe, night train travel from Prague has been significantly reduced over the past decades, with service to locations including Amsterdam, Copenhagen, and Venice no longer available.

Currently, night train options from Prague include locations in Slovakia as well as Budapest and Zurich.

But plans for new overnight connections follow the success of this summer's night train route to Croatia, which saw huge interest despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The Budapest connection was launched soon after.

"It turns out that people are interested in traveling by train overnight," Scheinherr added.

"In the Czech Republic, we were able to see this during the summer with trains to Croatia."