Czech Railways runs a direct Prague–Berlin–Copenhagen train since May 2026

Lire en français : Prague–Copenhague : ČD lance 2 allers-retours quotidiens en ComfortJet

Czech Railways (ČD) launched on 1 May 2026 a direct rail service between Prague and Copenhagen, operated with new ComfortJet trainsets built by Siemens Mobility and Škoda Transportation. The connection, run jointly with Deutsche Bahn and Denmark's DSB, offers two daily roundtrips covering the roughly 11-hour journey from around €64, with a third frequency added in summer.

The route runs from Prague through Ústí nad Labem, Dresden, Berlin and Hamburg to Odense and Copenhagen, crossing the Great Belt (Storebælt) bridge between Funen and Zealand. It is one of ten pilot cross-border projects backed by the European Commission. The last direct service between Prague and Copenhagen had disappeared after the 2014 timetable, when trains still relied on a ferry crossing.

Each ComfortJet trainset seats 555 passengers: 99 in first class in a 2+1 configuration and 456 in second class at 2+2. The trains reach 230 km/h and feature pressurised coaches for tunnel passages, radio-frequency-transparent windows for uninterrupted mobile and Wi-Fi reception, an 18-seat dining car serving Czech dishes, a children's cinema area, 12 bicycle spaces and three wheelchair-accessible places with lifts. Prague to Berlin takes around four hours, Berlin to Copenhagen around seven.

A connection shaped by new infrastructure and EU backing

The service became possible after the completion of the Berlin–Hamburg line renovation in early 2026, which improved journey times and reliability on the German section. CNN listed the Prague–Copenhagen train among its "most exciting new trains" for 2026. Fares start at 18.99 euros for a Berlin–Prague Sparpreis ticket in second class and 29.99 euros in first, while a Flexpreis ranges from 80 to 95 euros. Tickets are available through cd.cz, the My Train app, bahn.de, Trainline and Omio.

The next improvement will come from the Fehmarnbelt tunnel between Germany and Denmark, expected in the early 2030s. By replacing the current rail link through Jutland with a direct undersea crossing, it should cut hours off the Berlin–Copenhagen segment. Until then, the ComfortJet service restores a connection that northern and central Europe lost over a decade ago, at prices that compete with budget airlines on the same corridor.

Sources: Deutsche Bahn, press release (07/07/2025); Expats.cz (31/12/2025, updated 01/01/2026); RailTarget.eu; Railway-News; RailwayPro.

Photo: the EuroCity Hungaria train. Landimedia04, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

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