The Prague-Gdynia railway connection has been launched. The first train departed late

– This is another opportunity to connect two neighboring countries and two close nations – said the Minister of Transport Czech Martin Kupka.

Czech Railways spokesman Filip Medelsky confirmed the delay of one of the trains, which was scheduled to depart at 7 a.m. on Sunday. As he said, the reason was the need to replace one of the carriages, which had a toilet defect. Later, when the train was approaching the first station outside Prague, in Kolin, it turned out that the heating in one of the carriages was not working.

– More and more Poles come to the Czech Republic. We have an almost 10% increase year on year and in the first three quarters (2024) of the year we already have approximately 700,000 Polish tourists who visited the Czech Republic. The trend is growing, emphasized Frantisek Reismueller, head of the Czech tourism headquarters, CzechTourism. He added that the aim of his organization is to show Poles regions other than Prague, which they visit most often.

Poland has a similar view on the Prague-Gdynia connection. – The Baltic Express route, agreed by the Czech and Polish state railways, runs, among others, through Wrocław, Poznań, Bydgoszcz to the Tricity, enables better and faster access for Czechs interested in Poland and Polish regions to less obvious tourist destinations – Jacek Gajewski, charge d'affaires ad interim of the Polish embassy in Prague, told PAP.

According to the Czech Minister of Transport, Czechs in Poland can count on many inspirations. – What I think you can draw inspiration from is the way of showing the history of the 20th century. This is what Polish museums were able to do: present key, breakthrough events in the history of the 20th century. This is something that Czechs should definitely get to know, said Kupka.

The Baltic Express journey from Prague to Tricity takes approximately nine hours. The first connection starts at 7, next at 11, 15 and 19.

On Sunday, December 15, a new railway timetable came into force. PKP Intercity passengers have more connections at their disposal – 505, including 34 seasonal ones. This is 51 connections more than a year earlier.

In addition, travel time has been shortened on many popular routes, including: That the capital to Szczecin or Białystok. Pendolino trains they drive in a new relationship – from Szczecin through Poznań to Warsaw. The carrier's timetable includes additional trains from Przemyśl, Poznań, Lublin Whether Białystok. There are also new connections to the Czech Republic from Tricity, Poznań, Wrocław (IC Baltic Express) and to Berlin from Przemyśl, Krakow, Katowice, Wrocław (IC Galicia).

Find out more: A completely new railway timetable from Sunday >>>

The Prime Minister also mentioned changes to the railways on social media Donald Tusk.

“Instead of big words – facts! From today, new railway connections, many more Intercity trains, record times on many routes (Warsaw-Szczecin, Gdańsk-Wrocław or Kraków-Zakopane) and new international connections, including 'Baltic Express' Tricity-Prague with the international number 262/263 inherited from the famous Orient Express. To everyone who worked hard for these changes, including: I heartily congratulate railway workers,” we read in the Prime Minister's entry.