Clock change in Czechia delays night trains and buses by an hour

On the night from Saturday to Sunday, when Czechia switches to winter time, more than 20 night trains and buses will be delayed by an hour. The clock change will affect international services run by several operators, including routes from Prague.

At RegioJet, this means four international trains between Prague and Chop in Ukraine or Przemyśl in Poland. They will stop for an hour in Ostrava-Svinov, Čadca and Petrovice u Karviné. Six bus services will wait as well, for example from Prague to Amsterdam. The buses will pause depending on the situation along the route and then continue on the regular timetable. The same applies to services between Brno and Vienna, Prague and Budapest, Prague and Vienna, and Prague and Kraków in both directions.

Lukáš Kubát, a spokesman for the carrier, advises passengers travelling that night to check their departure times especially carefully. The company has published the details on its website.

The change will also affect ten overnight Czech Railways services, mostly to Germany, Poland and Austria. Passengers can check a train's position in the Můj vlak app, on the carrier's website or by phone on 221 111 122. Four Leo Express trains — one in Czechia, one in Slovakia and two in Poland — will wait at stations until their regular departure time, company spokesman Emil Sedlažík said.

Winter time will last until March 28, after which Czechia will switch back to summer time. The government of Andrej Babiš (ANO) approved the dates for the next five years in September. According to the government, Czechia has no influence on the time change and simply follows the European Union rule. The European Parliament approved abolishing the clock change in 2019, but member states have not agreed on which time to keep permanently. Czechia has changed its clocks since the late 1970s, originally to save energy.

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Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz