Brussels-Prague from €46.90, Cologne-Prague from €27.90
Frankfurt-Prague from €27.90, Nuremberg-Prague from €15
You've probably never heard of Cheb, pronounced Heb, an obscure border town between Germany and the Czech Republic. But the German Railways website int.bahn.de & Czech Railways website www.cd.cz sell inexpensive advance-purchase fares between Prague and Nuremberg, Frankfurt, Cologne & Brussels in either direction via this route. You can often find cheap fares even weeks in advance, no need to look months ahead. But there's nothing cut-price about the top-quality trains. This page shows you what these trains are like, what the journey is like, and has tips on buying & using these tickets.
In 2024, an extra change of train is needed at Marktredwitz. It should still all work like clockwork, but the number of changes on the route via Cheb now makes the route via Berlin the more sensible choice for journeys between Brussels or Cologne and Prague.
Czech train between Prague &
Cheb
German regional
train between Cheb & Nuremberg
ICE
trains Nuremberg-Frankfurt-Cologne-Brussels
Train times to Prague: London to Prague, Brussels to Prague, Cologne to Prague, Frankfurt to Prague.
Train times from Prague: Prague to London, Prague to Brussels, Prague to Frankfurt, Prague to Cologne, Prague to Nuremberg.
What's the journey like?
Here's an illustrated account of a westbound journey from Prague to Nuremberg, Frankfurt & Brussels on the early morning departure on a frosty January day. Obviously, trains & scenery are the same in either direction, you just experience them in the reverse order!
1. Czech train between Prague & Cheb
The Czech Railways (CD) express trains between Prague & Cheb are now formed of CD's latest Interjet trains built by Siemens. Clean, comfortable, air-conditioned with free WiFi and power sockets at all seats. A refreshment trolley comes down the train with tea, coffee, snacks and soft drinks at inexpensive Czech prices. These trains run every 2 hours.
Easy cross-platform change at Cheb
Czech & German timetables are coordinated and it's usually a simple 10-minute cross-platform interchange at Cheb between the Czech train to/from Prague and the German regional train to/from Nuremberg, in either direction.
Tip: Don't worry about only having 10 minutes to change trains in Cheb - that's 9 minutes more than you need. All you normally have to do is get off one train, walk the width of the platform and board the train on the other side, as you can see in the photo below. You can do it in 10 seconds, never mind 10 minutes. If one train is a little late, the other will wait a few minutes, this is a recognised connection.
Tip: When going eastbound and changing into the Czech train from Cheb to Prague, don't blindly board the train on the other side of the platform. Check the platform departure boards, sometimes the train across the platform is the slow train to Prague via Usti nad Labem, you want the express to Prague via Pilsen!
2. German regional train between Cheb & Nuremberg
The DB Regioswinger is a comfortable modern regional train with air-conditioning, toilets, and power sockets at all seats - although no WiFi. There's no catering on this train, so bring your own supplies. This train tilts so it can go faster around the many bends on this rural route across Bavaria. The train is coupled to a Hof-Nuremberg train between Pegnitz and Nuremberg - so when boarding an eastbound train from Nuremberg to Cheb, make sure you board the unit going to Cheb and not the unit bound for Hof!
3. ICE high-speed train between Nuremberg & Frankfurt
Changing trains at Nuremberg is simply a case of looking at the departure screens, going down the escalators, lift or stairs to the underpass, then back up on the platform for your onward train. The onward ICE trains come with a restaurant car, power sockets at all seats and free WiFi.
Tip: If you need to stock up or grab a coffee for the journey, there are plenty of food outlets and a Rewe To Go minimarket inn the main station entrance hall.
4. ICE high-speed train between Frankfurt & Cologne or Brussels
The system may suggest changing at Frankfurt (Main) Hbf or at Frankfurt Flughafen. At the modern 4-platform Frankfurt Flughafen it's usually a cross-platform or same-platform change so it's easier. I personally prefer changing at the magnificent historic Frankfurt (Main) Hbf, which is a terminus so there's easy level access between all platforms. Just see what the CD website gives you.
The onward ICE from Frankfurt to Brussels also features a small restaurant area, a bar, power sockets at all seats & free WiFi.
If you're going to Cologne or Brussels, the train crosses the Rhine into Cologne Hbf on the vast Hohenzollern bridge, with views of Cologne cathedral next to the station on the left hand side (going westbound) or right hand side (going eastbound to Prague).
Tips for buying tickets via Cheb
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You can buy tickets at either the German Railways website int.bahn.de or the Czech Railways website www.cd.cz.
Check both sites, as prices are controlled independently and one site can be cheaper than the other for exactly the same trains. An advantage of using int.bahn.de is that you can choose a specific seat from a seating plan on ICE trains.
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Booking opens up to 6 months ahead at int.bahn.de, but only 90 days ahead at www.cd.cz. Bookings on both sites open significantly less than this for dates after the timetable change in mid-December.
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To specify this route on int.bahn.de, click Stopovers and enter Cheb, leaving length of stay as 00:00. To specify it on www.cd.cz, click More options then Travel via then enter Cheb as a via station.
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Fares are all one-way. A return is simply two one-ways.
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Seat reservations
Seat reservations aren't necessary or even possible on the German regional train between Nuremberg & Cheb, you just sit where you like and there are usually plenty of empty seats to choose from.
Seat reservations are optional on German ICE trains and on the Czech domestic train between Cheb & Prague - meaning you can buy the ticket without reservations and sit where you like in any empty unreserved seat, or you can add a reserved seat on each train for a small extra charge.
My advice on seat reservations? You'll almost always find loads of unreserved empty seats on the Czech Cheb-Prague train so I wouldn't necessarily bother, but I'd definitely add seat reservations on the German ICE trains as these can get busy.
If you have any trouble adding seat reservations when buying the ticket, simply buy the ticket without any seat reservations. You can then make ICE seat reservations separately for around €5 at the German Railways website int.bahn.de by running an enquiry using the Book seat only link under the red search button. As an added bonus, on ICEs int.bahn.de will let you choose an exact seat from a seating plan, the CD website won't. Obviously, just make sure you make the seat reservation on the same train your ticket is for!
The reason you may have problems with adding a seat reservation on cd.cz is that the Czech domestic train only opens for reservation 60 days ahead, so if you're booking 60-90 days ahead it'll fail just because that train isn't open for booking.
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You print your own ticket or can simply show it on your laptop or phone. Ticket inspectors simply scan the barcode.
Travel tips
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Don't worry about a delay causing a missed connection: A Sparpreis or First Minute ticket between Belgium or Germany & Prague is a through ticket, so if you miss a connection you have a cast-iron legal right to continue on later onward trains under the CIV international conditions of carriage.
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However, if adding onward travel on a separate ticket, it is wise to allow time just in case a connection is missed. For example, I booked a ticket leaving Prague at 06:43 and arriving Brussels at 17:35. I didn't book the 18:56 Eurostar from Brussels to London, I booked the later one at 20:22 so that if I missed a connection and arrived in Brussels 2 hours later on the following ICE at 19:35, I would still make it. In the event, I arrived in Brussels only 10 minutes late, but it's always better to play safe!
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Changing trains is easy. It takes just minutes (or in the case of Cheb, just seconds) to get off one train, look at the departure screens, walk to the platform for your onward train, and get on. There is no check in for these trains and there are no ticket gates, just free & easy access to the stations & trains.
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Boarding the regional train from Nuremberg to Cheb. The Nuremberg-Cheb train leaves Nuremberg coupled to a Nuremberg to Hof train, so make sure you board the Nuremberg-Cheb portion, not the Nuremberg-Hof portion! The LED screens on the side of the train will clearly show you which unit is for Cheb and which for Hof. The two portions divide at Pegnitz
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Luggage. You can take whatever luggage with you that you like, just remember you have to manage it yourself, as on any train. Like other European trains, you take your luggage onto the train with you and put it on one of the various luggage racks.
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Food & drink. There's a proper restaurant car on the ICEs, and in 1st class staff will take your order from the restaurant menu and serve you at your seat. There's no catering on the DB regional train. There's usually a refreshment trolley on the Czech train between Cheb and Prague. You are of course free to take your own picnic and even beer or wine onto all of these trains.
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WiFi & power outlets. All these trains have power outlets at seats, of the usual European 2-pin 220 volt type. ICEs and most cars in the Czech train have free WiFi. There's no WiFi on the German regional train between Nuremberg & Cheb.
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Station guides. See these station guides for a station overview and tips on changing trains and station facilities: Prague Hlavni, Frankfurt (Main) Hbf, Cologne Hbf, Brussels Midi.
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And last but not least: Cheb is pronounced 'Heb'.
Route map
Watch the video guide
This video shows what the trains & scenery are like. It's a westbound journey from Prague to Brussels, but trains & scenery are the same in either direction!