Leo Express fortifies in Poland
Czech private railway operator Leo Express plans a significant extension of its network in Poland. On 20th December it will commence a train between Prague and the Polish city of Wrocław. Also, the company is waiting for approval from the Polish authorities to launch a connection to Warsaw. Recently, Leo Express has obtained permission for extending its Prague – Kraków train link to Medyka station at the Polish-Ukrainian border.
After a year and half of train operations on the Prague – Kraków route, Leo Express will open its second train link in Poland – from Prague to Wrocław. This connection will be performed on weekends. From Prague, the trains will depart on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at 18:08. The return trip from Wrocław starts on Saturdays and Sundays at 05:58. It is required around 4 hours and a half to travel between the termini.
“The price of a ticket starts at 99 korunas (around 3.9 euros). The connection is perfect for trips and euro weekends,” said Juraj Andrejka, Leo Express managing director for Poland a Ukraine. The train service will be provided in a partnership with Polish regional railway operator Koleje Dolnośląskie. On the Polish side, the passengers will be able to continue their travel by taking the trains of this company. Also, the Polish operator will sell the tickets for the Prague – Wrocław train at some of its ticket offices.
Dreams about Warsaw
Earlier, Leo Express has got an approval from Poland’s Office of Rail Transport (UTK) for launching a train from Prague via Kraków to the Polish-Ukrainian border. Initially, the company intended to do it from the 2019/2020 timetable change in the middle of December. Due to bureaucracy proceedings, Leo Express could not receive desirable time frames. As a result, this train link will start in the middle of March 2020.
Also, Leo Express looks forward to obtaining permission for another route in Poland. Recently, the company has made a request for train service from Kraków to Warsaw. “We have filed a request for a permit for a separate line between Kraków and Warsaw. But nothing prevents us to connect it to the current line Prague – Kraków. The date of the start depends on the speed of the approval process, a decision could be made approximately within a year,” noted Juraj Andrejka.
Other foreign markets
Leo Express is providing the train service in Czechia since 2012. Two years later, the company entered Slovakian rail market by extending its Prague – Ostrava link to Košice (via Žilina). Apart from trains, Leo Express has a well-developed network of bus links. With their help, it performs the combined services to other countries including Germany, Austria and Ukraine. The company delivers the passengers by buses to the railway stations where they can take a train. Before launching the Prague – Kraków direct train, the customers of Leo Express used a bus for travelling to Bohumin, a Czech railway station close to the Polish border, and then took a train to Prague.
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