JSC Ukrzaliznytsia has signed a contract with the Czech railway operator RegioJet, which will begin operating on the Chop-Prague route in March, chairman of the board of Ukrzaliznytsia Yevhen Liaschenko said in an exclusive comment to the Interfax-Ukraine agency.

“A contract has already been concluded with RegioGet, the final technical issues are now being agreed upon. We expect that the Chop-Prague train will start running in March,” said the head of Ukrzaliznytsia.

Earlier, RegioJet reported that it had completed preparations for the launch of the Chop-Kosice-Prague service.

As reported, they are planning to launch a second train from Prague to Ukraine in the near future along the new Prague-Kosice-Chop route. All necessary permits were obtained from the railway administrations of the Czech Republic and Slovakia. At the beginning of the week, the company said that the timing of the train’s launch depended on Ukrzaliznytsia.

Earlier, Ukrzaliznytsia announced the launch of a train from Chop to Prague in partnership with RegioJet from mid-November.

The owner of RegioJet, Radim Yanchura, in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine, said that the Chop-Prague train would include three cars with 140 seats, of which 80 seats are in sleeping cars, 60 in cars with seats.

According to him, the ticket price will be about EUR25. Its price will include free water, coffee, and access to Wi-Fi. Travel time will be 13 hours 30 minutes, including passport control at the Slovak border.

Yanchura clarified that RegioJet will receive revenue from transportation, but will pay Ukrzaliznytsia a fee for access to the infrastructure.