KŽC

KŽC Doprava is a privately owned Czech rail company, founded in 2006 out of its owners' own enthusiasm for the railway. It now runs regular public passenger trains on 11 lines across five regions, mainly in Bohemia, alongside freight and non-public rail work. Between 2010 and 2012 it took over 23 regional lines that were headed for closure. Today it leads the heritage and nostalgia side of Czech rail, not just the regular timetable.

Named lines

The regular public network covers the Městská linka S34, Linka S43, Pražský motoráček, Posázavský motoráček, Rakovnický rychlík, Kralovický rychlík, Kokořínský rychlík, Lužickohorský rychlík, Podřipský motoráček, Kamenický motoráček, Podkrušnohorský motoráček and Mochovský motoráček. That is a lot of small, named lines rather than one core route, so know your line's name before you look up times.

The Městská linka S34 is the daily commuter option: weekdays year round between Praha Masarykovo nádraží, Praha-Vysočany and Praha-Čakovice, on a 60-minute interval, roughly every 13 minutes from Masarykovo nádraží and every 20 minutes from Čakovice.

The Pražský motoráček is something else entirely. It runs Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays only, skipping the week between Christmas and New Year, using a 1950s M 262 railcar on the so-called Pražský semmering, from Praha hlavní nádraží to Praha-Zličín and back, with a morning departure that starts out from Praha-Čakovice.

Tickets and tariffs

Which fare applies depends on the line, because different regions commission different services. The S34 and Pražský motoráček both take the Prague Integrated Transport (PID) tariff and the shared One Ticket (SJT) system. Several other lines run on One Ticket across their full route, and a few accept the Ústí region's DÚK tariff or KŽC's own tariff on specific sections. Check your line before you board, not after.

On the S34 and Pražský motoráček, buy at a Czech Railways ticket counter, through the PID Lítačka or OneTicket app, or from the conductor onboard at no surcharge. Neither service takes card payment onboard.

Bikes

Both checked services carry bikes in the luggage compartment: up to two per train on the S34, and up to five on the Pražský motoráček, which also takes up to three pushchairs. Prices are in Czech koruna (CZK).