Rail transport in Slovakia began on September 21, 1840, with the opening of the first horse-powered line from Bratislava to Svätý Jur. The first steam-powered line, from Bratislava to Vienna, opened on August 20, 1848.

Rail transport in the Czech Republic carried 193.5 million passengers in 2019, and 68.37 million tonnes of cargo in the year 2009. The majority of passenger services run nowadays are operated by the state company České dráhy, which until 2007 also managed cargo services now run by ČD Cargo. In 2009 the country had 9,420 km of standard gauge track, 3,153 km of which is electrified. There are two main electrification systems in the Czech Republic, 3 kV DC in the northern part, and 25 kV 50 Hz AC in the south. Locomotives had to be changed on boundaries in the past, two-system locomotives have been introduced in 1974. The network has same gauge links to all four countries bordering the Czech Republic with passenger services to all four countries in operation. Major hubs for international passenger services on the network are in Prague, Ostrava, Brno and Břeclav, and the busiest station is Praha hlavní nádraží. The maximum speed for passenger traffic is 160 km/h (100 mph).