Czech Railways
 

Can anyone comment on the Czech Railway system? Are the trains on time or should I be prepared for delays?
Thank you.

I would suggest, if possible, take the bus! www.studentagency.cz go every where and you don't need to be a student!

I've used the system several times. Never experienced a major delay and the equipment was more than simply serviceable.

If you are using the US passenger railway services as a general reference point then you'll be pleasantly suprised IMO.

I'm sure the busses are also fine however I have never used them in the Czech Republic and i probably wouldn't unless I couldn't get to the same destination by rail in good time. Personal preference I guess.

Um, maybe it was just my experience, but the bus I was on (a 1 hour trip from Prague to Brandys nad Labem), broke down, leaving us stranded next to a farm field for over 1 hour. The next bus to come along on the route picked up the remaining passengers, and I got to my destination 2.5 hours late.

Take the train. I've heard some stories about those, too, but I'd say it's the way to go. Unless there's a serious accident/derailment, the schedule stays pretty much on time.

I've taken Czech trains several times and they were very good. They were all on time. Have no idea how that relates to the hundreds of other routes and trains, though. Also, the trains I took were not the real small local ones.

I have mixed experiences with the Czech Railways. They were often late, the cars not up to modern standards and one time it was particularly bad:
A technical problem on the route Prague - Karlstejn (-Munich). No train running, we were stranded in the middle of nowhere w/o any information. Good luck I had a Czech friend travelling with me. He found a way to get us back to Prague.

I.

Last year we took Czech trains a few times, and found them reliable.

Since the ticket booth clerks did not always speak English, we wrote down the desired ticket details in advance, using the 24 hour clock. That way we got exactly what we wanted.

Woody

Well, the Czech railways too often look like rolling junk heaps, but they run on time, or nearly so. Compared to, say, Japanese trains they're sloppy, but compared to Amtrak they are lightyears ahead.

As for the one person who got stranded between Prague and Karlstejn - that's a commuter line and trains run every 20 minutes or so during the day. Not sure how you can get stranded on that one.

The person who got stranded was stranded together with the other passengers and all the commuters because of no electric power in the overhead contact lines. Took them an endless time to fix that, the stranded trains blocked the rail lines so no diesel-engined locomotives could be used either.