RegioJet, the largest private train operator in the Czech Republic, plans to broaden its reach to five countries in 2020. Three of these countries (Hungary, Slovenia, and Croatia) can already be removed from the list formally while Poland and Ukraine remain in the company’s plans.
The company’s head Radim Jančura announced this to Zdopravy.cz, the CFTS portal reports.
As reported previously, RegioJet launched a train to Croatia for the first time this week. The train passes through Hungary and Slovenia. However, a separate Prague-Budapest route through Vienna will be launched this summer.
"We will launch trains from Prague to Budapest at the turn of July and August and we would like to travel from the Czech Republic through Poland to the border with Ukraine by the end of the year," Jančura said.
According to the head of RegioJet, the company wants to start operating trains to Poland and the Ukrainian border at the end of this year. The company has already been licensed in Poland for more than a year, and it is currently awaiting the Polish regulator’s permission to operate on specific routes.
As the CFTS portal reported earlier, it is expected to be possible to travel to the Ukrainian border not only from Prague, but also from Vienna.
The Czech company initially considered the option of operating trains to the Mostyska-2 train station in the Lviv region, but it is now considering operating trains that will connect to an Ukrzaliznytsia train in Przemysl (Poland). "This is a guaranteed link," said Jančura.
In general, the head of RegioJet sees great potential in rail links with Ukraine. “Up to twenty buses were operated to Lviv per day before coronavirus. There were no prospects. Low-cost airlines are entering the market on the one hand and trains on the other hand,” Jančura said. According to him, the advantages of trains are that documents will be checked while the train is already on the move and passengers will be able to take more baggage with them.
