New European train service covers 1300km across three countries

Leo Express’ new Germany-Czechia-Poland-Ukraine service launched on June 25, connecting Frankfurt Airport with Przemyśl in eastern Poland via Prague, Dresden, Leipzig and Krakow. Stretching 1300 kilometres and taking about 18 hours to complete, it is one of Europe’s longest of its kind and exactly the sort of cross-border route European train users have been wanting.

Yet, it also highlights one of the enduring frustrations of European rail travel – booking.

For all the excitement around high-speed rail, overnight sleeper trains and new international routes, Europe’s rail network remains fragmented. A journey crossing several countries can still involve multiple operators, different booking systems and a confusing mix of fares, reservations and ticketing rules.

This new route is owned and operated by Czech rail company Leo Express, rather than Deutsche Bahn in Germany, where the service starts, or a Polish operator, where the line terminates. This can make knowing who to book with confusing.

For Australian travellers, who often piece together multi-country European itineraries, navigating multiple train operators can be one of the biggest barriers to travelling by rail.

It is a problem Rail Europe has spent the past several years trying to solve.

The Paris-based company, which specialises in European rail bookings for international travellers, has steadily expanded the number of operators available through its platform. This month it announced the addition of Leo Express, extending access to routes including the operator’s new service. The move follows the integration of BritRail and European Sleeper earlier this year, bringing more of Europe’s growing rail network into a single booking ecosystem.

“European rail is still too fragmented and too complex to access across borders. Our job at Rail Europe is to make it easier,” says chief executive Björn Bender.

The issue is particularly relevant for Australians, who are among the world’s most enthusiastic users of European rail. Australia is Eurail’s second-largest market globally after the US, with more than 57,000 Australians travelling on Eurail passes in 2024. Those travellers averaged 11 train journeys and 1652 kilometres of rail travel during their European trips.

Despite the difficulties, rail travel in Europe is increasingly popular.

Passenger rail traffic across the EU reached a record 443 billion passenger kilometres in 2024, up 5.8 per cent on the previous year, according to the latest findings from the official statistical office of the European Union, Eurostat. It’s the highest level recorded since comparable data collection began in 2004 and the growth reflects both government investment in infrastructure and travellers’ increasing preference for lower-emission transport options.

More players are also running more routes. Private operators such as RegioJet, Italo and European Sleeper are expanding alongside traditional national railways, creating new services and increasing competition on both domestic and international routes.

Leo Express says it plans significant expansion in Europe, and in March this year launched a service on the Warsaw-Krakow route, saying connections between Poland and the Czech Republic were central to its broader growth strategy.

While airlines have spent decades building global distribution systems that allow passengers to compare routes and fares across carriers, European rail remains a patchwork of national networks. Local travellers may know exactly where to book a German, French or Italian train ticket, but international visitors are often navigating unfamiliar operators for the first time.

Even the European Commission is pursuing reforms aimed at simplifying cross-border rail ticketing and passenger rights, recognising that booking complexity remains one of the key barriers to growing international rail travel.

For many Australians, rail is not simply a way of travelling between two cities. It is a central part of the European holiday experience, linking destinations across multiple countries without the need for airports, baggage restrictions or short-haul flights.

But even with the freedom of the Eurail pass, not all operators accept it. Rail Europe, at least, can help fill the gaps – and it sells the pass too.

See raileurope.com