--- title: "Train stations in Prague: which station to use and why" date: 2026-06-20 author: "Johan E. Johansson" featured_image: "https://everyrail.com/wp-content/uploads/prague.jpg" categories: - name: "Destinations" url: "/destinations.md" --- # Train stations in Prague: which station to use and why Prague has four train stations, but one of them handles almost every international and long-distance arrival. That station is Praha hlavni nadrazi, shortened to Praha hl.n. on Czech timetables and tickets. If you see “Praha hl.n.” anywhere on your booking, you are in the right place. Booking platforms often display only “Prague” or “Praha” in the destination field. Open the full train details before paying and confirm the station name. Most travellers will never need any station other than Praha hl.n., but knowing which one your train uses saves a wasted metro ride. ## Praha hlavni nadrazi: Prague’s main station Praha hlavni nadrazi sits in the centre of Prague, about 1.2 km from Old Town Square. You can walk there in 14 minutes. Charles Bridge is around 22 minutes on foot, and Prague Castle takes about 38 minutes via the old town. It is a through station, not a terminus. Trains leave heading north toward Dresden and Berlin, or south toward Vienna, Bratislava, and Budapest. The platform number on your ticket often includes a letter: S means “sever” (north half of the platform), J means “jih” (south half). Platform 5J is simply the southern end of platform 5. ### How the station is laid out The main entrance is on level -2, a 1970s concourse built into the hillside. Above it, at level 0, is the original Art Nouveau building from 1909. Most travellers enter through the modern lower entrance beside a small park and walk through the concourse without realising there is a beautiful historic station directly above them. Level -2 has the departure boards, ticket offices, luggage lockers (to the left as you enter), and a Billa supermarket (to the right). Level -1, one floor up, has the manned left luggage office in the southern passageway under the tracks, and the RegioJet passenger lounge. Level 0 is platform level. Buy food before you go up. There is nothing to eat on the platforms. If you have time before your train, take the escalators from level -1 up to the original Art Nouveau building. The Fantova Kavarna, a cafe in the historic entrance hall, is the best place in the station to wait. Far fewer people find it. ### Getting to the city centre Metro Line C runs directly beneath Praha hl.n. The station stop is called Hlavni nadrazi. Buy a 30-minute ticket from the yellow machines near the escalators, which have English-language menus and accept contactless cards. Validate the ticket at the small yellow validator before the barriers. For Old Town Square, walk. Fourteen minutes is faster than the metro. For Prague Castle, the metro makes more sense. ### Buying tickets Three separate ticket offices are at the rear of level -2. The CD (Czech Railways) office is open near 24 hours and accepts both CZK and euros, cash or card. RegioJet and Leo Express each have their own desks on the same level. Each operator’s ticket is valid only on its own trains. A CD ticket does not get you onto a RegioJet train. RegioJet trains are yellow, Leo Express trains are white and blue. Check the departure board if you are not sure which company operates your service. ## Which trains use Praha hl.n. in 2026 Most major international services use Praha hl.n. But in the 2026 timetable, Praha-Holesovice has become a scheduled stop for several international services, not just a diversion. Always check the station on your specific booking. ### Prague to Vienna and Budapest Most Railjet and ComfortJet trains between Prague and Vienna use Praha hl.n. as their Prague station. However, two daily departures toward Vienna (10:36 and 19:36) use Praha-Holesovice as their Prague station in the 2026 timetable. One Vienna arrival ends at Praha-Holesovice rather than Praha hl.n. The Hungaria service toward Budapest also uses Praha-Holesovice. Check the station on your booking before travel. The journey time from Praha hl.n. to Vienna Hauptbahnhof is approximately 4 hours 10 minutes on a Railjet or ComfortJet service, depending on the specific departure. ### Prague to Berlin Berlin-Prague ComfortJet (Berliner) trains generally stop at Praha-Holesovice first and then at Praha hl.n. for most services. At least one daily departure from Berlin arrives at Holesovice but does not continue to Praha hl.n. Journey time is approximately 4 hours from Berlin Hbf to Praha hl.n. on a through service. For Berlin, always confirm the exact station stop on your booking. Most trains serve Praha hl.n., but not all. ### Open-access operators: RegioJet and Leo Express On routes like Prague to Brno and Prague to Ostrava, three separate operators run trains from Praha hl.n.: CD, RegioJet, and Leo Express. These tickets are not interoperable. You cannot board a RegioJet train with a CD ticket. Both RegioJet and Leo Express accept Interrail and Eurail passes on Czech routes. A seat reservation is required in both cases. Leo Express reservations for pass holders are free; book at leoexpress.com. RegioJet requires a pass-holder reservation too. Compare all three operators before booking: CD, RegioJet, and Leo Express each have their own pricing, and there is no single booking platform that covers all three with equal accuracy. ## Rail passes and reservations Interrail and Eurail passes are valid on CD trains. On Nightjet overnight services, a pass-holder reservation is compulsory. Your pass covers the travel day but not your specific place on the train. Book the reservation separately and in advance, particularly for couchette and sleeping compartments, which can sell out before seats on popular departures. On Railjet and ComfortJet services, a reservation is recommended for pass holders. Check the current fee before booking, as it varies by service and booking channel. ## Praha-Holesovice and the other Prague stations Most travellers will only ever use Praha hl.n. The other three stations are useful to know about, especially Praha-Holesovice in the 2026 timetable. StationLocationMetroWhen to usePraha hlavni nadraziCity centre, Prague 1Line C (Hlavni nadrazi)Most international trains and long-distance domestic servicesPraha-HolesoviceNorth Prague, Prague 7Line C (Nadrazi Holesovice, 3 stops from Hlavni)Some 2026 Vienna departures; Hungaria to Budapest; some Berlin servicesPraha Masarykovo nadraziCity centre, 850 m from HlavniLine B nearby (Namesti Republiky)Local and regional trains onlyPraha-SmichovSouth-west, Prague 5Line B (Smichovske nadrazi)Some EC and IC trains to Bavaria via Pilsen### Praha-Holesovice Praha-Holesovice is a secondary station in Prague 7, north of the city centre. It is on Metro Line C, three stops from Hlavni nadrazi, which takes a few minutes. In the 2026 timetable, several scheduled international services use Holesovice as their Prague stop rather than the main station. These include the Hungaria ComfortJet service toward Budapest, two Prague-Vienna morning and evening departures, and one or more Berlin-Prague services that call at Holesovice only. This is not a diversion due to trackwork. It is the scheduled timetable for those trains. Check your ticket. If the station on your booking shows Praha-Holesovice, that is where your train departs from or arrives at. Transfer to Praha hl.n. via Metro Line C if needed. Holesovice has ticket windows, an ATM, a bureau de change, and a taxi rank. The luggage locker signs are still there, but the lockers are no longer in service. ### Praha Masarykovo nadrazi Masarykovo is a restored terminus in the city centre, about 850 metres from Praha hl.n. on foot. It handles local and regional trains. International travellers arriving by long-distance train will not need it. Namesti Republiky metro station on Line B is nearby. ### Praha-Smichov Smichov is in the south-west of the city on Metro Line B. Some EC and IC trains to Bavaria via Pilsen use this station. Most southbound trains from Praha hl.n. also call at Smichov shortly after departure, so if your ticket shows Smichov as a stop, this is expected. ## Getting to Prague Airport from the train stations Vaclav Havel Airport Prague (PRG) has no rail connection in 2026. There is no metro to the airport. A new rail link is under development, but it was not open at the time of writing. Use the Airport Express bus, known as the AE service, operated by DPP (Prague City Transport). It runs between the airport and Praha hl.n. and takes approximately 40 minutes. As of June 2026, the adult fare is CZK 200. The daytime service runs every 20 minutes, reduced to 15 minutes during summer holidays. A night service runs hourly between 00:30 and 05:00. Check the current timetable and fare on the DPP website before travel. If you are connecting from an international train arrival to a flight, allow at least 90 minutes between your train arrival and your airport check-in deadline.