This case study presents the cross-border public service Railway connection Johanngeorgenstadt (DE) – Karlovy Vary (CZ). 

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. The case study is an example of a cross-border public transport service (CBPT) in a rural area with geographical specificities as this service is in the western section of the Ore Mountains. The railway is some 46km long and crosses this ridge with relatively steep slopes. The case study presents the key obstacles to the service, and solutions to these obstacles are discussed. The concluding section then reflects upon the lessons learnt from this service. 

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.