This case study presents the cross-border rail service between Berlin (Germany) and Kostrzyn nad Odrą (Poland). 

It explores the business model of this service, including its governance arrangements, operational provisions to develop the service and address demand, and its territorial scope. This service is an important German-Polish cross-border service which connects the metropolitan region around Berlin and the Polish network. The case study presents the key obstacles to the service, such as the different national legal and administrative frameworks and language barriers. Solutions to these barriers are discussed before the final section summaries the lessons learnt by this case study. 

This case study report is part of a series of 31 case studies developed in the framework of the study ‘Providing public transport in cross-border regions – Mapping of existing services and legal obstacles’, completed by Spatial Foresight in cooperation with TCP international, TRT trasporti e territorio and EureConsult for the European Commission’s DG REGIO.