First train of Baltic Express line en route from Prague to Gdynia, Poland

The first train of the new Czech Railways (ČD) Baltic Express line departed from Prague’s Main Station on Sunday at 07:15, heading to Gdynia, Poland, on the Baltic Sea. Passengers from Prague should reach their destination in approximately nine hours. The train departed twenty-four minutes behind schedule due to operational reasons, railway spokesman Filip Medelský told ČTK.

Trains on the new line will run to the Baltic four times a day in both directions. Trains on the new line will stop in Kolín, Pardubice, Ústí nad Orlicí, Lichkov, Wrocław, Poznań and Gdańsk, among other stops, and the journey between Prague and Wrocław will take less than four hours. Passengers from Prague will be able to reach Poznań in about five and a half hours, and Gdańsk in eight and a half hours. According to Transport Minister Martin Kupka, the new line will simplify access to the Polish coast for Czechs, and attract more Polish tourists to Czechia. Ticket prices to Wrocław start at 400 crowns, and to the Baltic Sea at about 750 crowns. The operation of the new line to the Baltic Sea is provided by ČD in cooperation with the Polish carrier PKP Intercity.