Austria and Czech Republic plan faster Vienna–Prague rail link by 2040

Austrian mobility minister Peter Hanke and his Czech counterpart Ivan Bednárik signed a letter of intent in Vienna on 10 April 2026 on upgrading the Vienna–Prague–Berlin (Via Vindobona) and Linz–České Budějovice–Prague rail axes. Both sides name journey times of 2.5 hours between Vienna and Prague and 4 hours between Vienna and Berlin as the goal for 2040; Austria is pushing ahead with upgrading the Nordbahn to Břeclav for speeds of up to 200 km/h, while the Czech Republic is planning new high-performance lines on the route from Prague via Brno to Břeclav. A joint study by ÖBB-Infrastruktur and Správa železnic on the Linz–Prague link is due by the end of 2026; according to Bednárik, the timetable depends on the EU budget framework after 2028. The date is a placeholder: the article gives only the year 2040 as the target and names no costs. (LOK Report, 10 Apr 2026)