Train tickets now for sale on aisle 10

In an effort to boost interest in train travel and celebrate Czechoslovak Independence Day, Czech Railways (ČD) has teamed up with Lidl supermarkets to offer one-day discounted train tickets available for purchase at cash registers throughout the country.

The ČD Net Lidl ticket - printed on customers' grocery receipts - will be sold in Lidl supermarkets Oct. 8-27. The ticket includes roundtrip travel from Prague to Brno, or Ostrava to Prague for 149 Kč ($8.52) per person, a 301 Kč discount from the usual price. The discount fare is valid only before noon Oct. 28, the day of Czechoslovak independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Petr Pošta, spokesman for ČD, explained the offer was developed to open ČD to a new market segment of individuals who might not otherwise consider traveling by train.

"We hope we'll show potential customers in supermarkets traveling by train can be comfortable, cheap and fast," he said. "We are starting to sell tickets through new sales channels, which can heighten our income and carry us to new customers."

Cooperation between Lidl and Czech Railways was inspired by a similar program in Germany, where Lidl supermarkets worked with Deutsche Bahn to offer discounts several years ago, Pošta said. Depending on the success of the ČD Net Lidl ticket, Lidl customers can expect similar offers in the future.

"We are going to evaluate the results, and then we'll decide about the future of these offers. If sales are successful, we would like to continue our cooperation through this new sales channel," he added.

ČD's discount offer comes at a time when the company is undergoing a significant facelift, updating its fleet of 4,000 trains to lower the average age of its trains from 30 years to 15 years before 2016, as The Prague Post reported Sept. 16. The company will receive significant funding from the state and the EU, but hopes to independently raise 10 billion Kč for train renewal before 2015, in part by accessing new markets.

But the company has a long way to go to improve its image with Czech travelers. Prague resident Pavel Šembera said ČD's service is "poor" and added that a one-day discounted ticket would do little to pique his interest about traveling by train.

"Perhaps you know the joke that ČD doesn't stand for 'České dráhy,' but for 'času dost,' which means 'We are not in a hurry,' " he quipped.