Experts Discuss High-Speed Rail in Ostrava
The joint meeting was opened by Ostrava Mayor Jan Dohnal. Photo: City of Ostrava

Experts Discuss High-Speed Rail in Ostrava

Jun 18, 2026
On 8 June 2026, the first joint meeting of the Investment and Transport Committees of the partner cities of Katowice and Ostrava took place at the National Cultural Monument of Ostrava’s New City Hall. The meeting marked another important milestone in the long-standing cooperation between the two cities, which dates back to 1970. The topic of this inaugural session was of strategic importance, as specialists discussed the development of a high-speed rail connection.
Experts Discuss High-Speed Rail in Ostrava
The joint meeting was opened by Ostrava Mayor Jan Dohnal. Photo: City of Ostrava

“Ostrava and Katowice are not merely partner cities on a map. They are two strong Central European metropolitan areas facing similar challenges and sharing a unique opportunity to become one of the most dynamic regions between Prague, Warsaw and Vienna. For us, high-speed rail is not just a transport project; it is a modernization initiative that can fundamentally improve access to employment, education, business opportunities and everyday life for people on both sides of the border. A rail connection reducing travel time between Ostrava and Katowice to just 40 minutes would transform today’s cross-border cooperation into a naturally integrated shared space. This is precisely why today’s joint meeting is so important – it moves our cooperation from declarations to concrete projects,” said Ostrava Mayor Jan Dohnal.

Katowice Deputy Mayor Bogumił Sobula also spoke at the press conference. Photo: Jiří Zerzoň

The all-day meeting was divided into two parts. The morning session focused on plans for and the construction of the future high-speed rail link intended to connect the two partner cities. The afternoon programme was dedicated to mutual information sharing on projects currently being implemented in both cities.

“Since 2020, when I personally supported our partners in Katowice in advocating for a high-speed rail route directly connecting the centres of our cities, cooperation and information exchange regarding this important project have continued to deepen. It is therefore an honour for me that, after years of collaboration, we can now hold the first joint meeting of this kind and give our mutual communication and cooperation a completely new dimension,” said David Witosz, Chairman of the Ostrava Investment Committee and initiator of the meeting.

David Witosz, Chairman of the Ostrava Investment Committee

In addition to members of both committees, the meeting was attended by Katowice Vice President Bogumił Sobula and Chairman of the Katowice City Council Łukasz Borkowski. Other distinguished guests included members of the Czech Parliament and Senate elected for the City of Ostrava, as well as deputy directors of the Czech Railway Administration and their counterparts from the Polish companies PKP PLK (Polish State Railways – Polish Railway Lines) and CPK (Central Communication Port).

Deputy Mayor Břetislav Riger also commented on the topic during the press conference

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