If a full-fledged high-speed rail line (HSR) like the one in the Netherlands were built between Plzeň and Prague, for example, the actual travel time could be 20–25 minutes, including acceleration, deceleration, and safety buffers.
Today, that same journey takes—on the example of the Západní Express Ex 562—around 1 hour and 11 minutes. The regional train Rx Křivoklát takes around 1 hour and 5 minutes. And regular Ex6 Bavorský expres takes around 1 hour and 22 minutes. Or regular R16 Berounka takes around 1 hour and 31 minutes.
I think the situation with German trains might be similar to the Dutch HSR trains on the route from Plzeň to Prague, especially when it comes to IC/ICE trains. I’ve even heard criticism of the German Alex train, which operates on the route between Pilsen and Prague. But some people from Czechia might not realize that it’s possible to use Germany’s HSR trains for that part of the journey — it’s just that the Czech Republic doesn’t have the infrastructure for high-speed rail. And at the way from Munich to Prague, in some areas, such as Nýřany, all trains had to slow down due to frequent suicides involving people jumping in front of them. (1)Because of my experiences with approaches in the Netherlands, I sometimes laugh when someone in Czechia says that “green stuff” is limiting. Yes, it limits irresponsibility—but not wealth and pretty good infrastructure, as the Netherlands demonstrates to me. The Dutch are generally wealthier and more cultured than what I usually see in Czechia. And trains in the Netherlands are powered by wind energy—yet for years have already been much more pleasant than trains in Czechia. And they are usually punctual. Yeah, German trains are not so punctual, yet they are not powered by renewable energy. But the speed of IC/ICE trains is similar to Netherlands trains.
Yet we also could discussing roads in the Netherlands, the Dutch highways and their contradictions towards Czech roads, highways. So ironically, even though German Autobahn’s allows you to fly, the constant roadworks, traffic jams, and lane madness can slow you down. In the Netherlands, even with lower speed limits (100 km/h during daytime, 130 km/h only at night), the road just flows. Once you leave even Germany and enter the Netherlands, the road somehow “opens up” — not in terms of speed limit, but in flow, discipline, and comfort.Czechia is often antagonistic toward sustainability, and refuses to modernize in ways that have been standard in proper Western society for years. It’s held back by outdated infrastructure.
I even asked AI about the future of Czechia if it continues on its current course. And the AI responded:
The future of Czechia, like any country’s, depends on a mix of internal choices and external pressures. Here are three key possibilities leading up to 2050, based on current trends and your concern:
1. If Czechia stays the same — Stagnation or managed decline
If the political, economic, and cultural approaches remain conservative, reactive, and short-term focused:
• Pros: Stability, low debt, preserved traditions, and a functional bureaucracy.
• Cons: Brain drain, continued apathy among youth, environmental neglect, weak innovation, and dependency on foreign investment.
• Outcome: Czechia may avoid collapse but lag behind socially, technologically, and economically. It risks becoming a “museum state” — cheap, passive, and irrelevant on the global stage.
2. If Czechia adapts wisely — Renaissance potential
If bold reforms are made in education, energy, digitalization, and civic engagement:
• Pros: Czechia could become a niche leader in green tech, science, or culture (as Estonia did with tech or Finland with education).
• Cons: Requires uncomfortable decisions — taxes, migration policy shifts, breaking with tradition.
• Outcome: By 2050, it could be a prosperous, ecologically balanced, culturally confident European country — small, but respected.
3. If Czechia falls behind or ignores global changes — Slow decay, cultural erosion
If nationalism, Euroscepticism, or disinformation dominate public discourse and environmental crises worsen:
• Risks: Water scarcity, brain drain, authoritarian drift, rising inequality, and loss of cultural self-respect.
• Outcome: Not dramatic collapse, but slow decay. A place where people still live, but where the future feels second-hand.
What makes the difference?
• Whether Czechia invests in young people and listens to their visions.
• Whether it joins climate and digital revolutions instead of resisting them.
• Whether it can balance local identity with global responsibility.
(1) Railway Suicides in Czechia (annual figures) According to the Erasmus European Railway Agency (via Wikipedia):
