From Prague to Berlin or Vienna in less than 2.5 hours thanks to Via Vindobona

From Prague to Berlin or Vienna in less than 2.5 hours thanks to Via Vindobona
17/5/2021Press releases

The Czech Republic, Germany and Austria signed a joint statement on further development of rail link Berlin – Prague – Vienna. The travel time from Prague to both capitals should not take more than two and a half hours. The fastest trains “TEE Sprinters” stopping in the largest cities can reach the capitals in two hours. The so-called Via Vindobona was one of the main topics during the conference on future of railway organized by the German Federal Ministry of Transport as a part of the European Year of Rail.

From Prague to Berlin or Vienna in less than 2.5 hours thanks to Via Vindobona
“I wish that Prague continued to provide train connections to the neighbouring capital cities and other important nodes at least once every two hours. After we complete high-speed railways, we plan to  double the train connections. I truly appreciate the cooperation with Germany regarding preparation of a cross-border tunnel between Dresden and Ústí nad Labem, which I consider to be a work of the century on railway in central Europe”, said Minister of Transport Karel Havlíček.

The tunnel is a part of the future high-speed axis in central Europe called “Via Vindobona”, a high-speed connection between Berlin, Prague and Vienna with travel time of ca. 4 hours. The pilot stretches of new lines with a speed up to 320 km/h and a minimum length of 120 km will be opened before 2030. The remaining 250 km will follow in the following years. This new infrastructure will offer other options for long-distance links, the most important ones being a direct express link Prague – Dresden – Frankfurt, which in combination with investments on the German railway network will be able to manage the journey in ca. 4.5 hours. It will offer an opportunity to travel to many destinations in Western Europe, which can be currently done only by plane or car.

Photo: Železničář - České dráhy




 
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