AŽD

AŽD Praha is a signalling and rail technology company first. Running trains was never the plan. Under the AŽD vlaky brand it now operates two passenger lines in the Ústí nad Labem region, and uses them, in part, as a live testbed for its own train control systems.

How a signalling company ended up running trains

In 2016 the Czech state put two lines up for sale: the Švestková dráha (Čížkovice to Obrnice) and the Kopidlnka line (Kopidlno to Dolní Bousov). No one else wanted them, and closure was the likely outcome. AŽD Praha stepped in to save both. A weekend service between Lovosice and Most began in 2017; two years later it became the daily U10 line running the full length from Litoměřice to Most. The Oparenský expres, a tourist line numbered T4, followed in 2020. AŽD is still working to bring the Kopidlnka line back into passenger service, so do not expect to ride it yet.

Švestková dráha (U10)

This is the daily service: the U10 line between Litoměřice and Most, running through the České středohoří landscape. Along the way it passes the Czech Garnet Museum and sites linked to Ulrike von Levetzow, under the Košťálov and Oltářík castle hills.

Oparenský expres (T4)

The Oparenský expres is seasonal, and shorter than its own history suggests. It once ran further toward Teplice v Čechách, but a 2013 landslide damaged the line beyond Chotiměř, so that is where the T4 service now ends. It is, if anything, the better half of the route: the Oparno valley section is the most scenic stretch, and hiking and cycling paths run alongside it.

Tickets and tariffs

One tariff covers both lines. Švestková dráha and Oparenský expres both sit inside the Ústí nad Labem region's integrated DÚK system, so a ticket bought for regional buses or other DÚK trains also works here, under the shared One Ticket (Jedna jízdenka) scheme. Buy through the DÚKapka app for single tickets, batches of up to ten, or time-based passes; the same app also shows DÚK timetables and live train position and delay information. Passenger support runs 6:00 to 14:00; outside those hours, calls route to the Ústí region's central transport dispatch. Prices are in Czech koruna (CZK).