Press release ·
Press information from Sächsisch-Oberlausitzer Eisenbahngesellschaft mbH (SOEG)
Zittau, 12 March 2026
Contact: Christian Sacher, tel. 0351 2134440 / 0176 64154718 / email: info@dampfbahn-route.de
SOEG from Zittau organises joint presentation of Saxon exhibitors at
Holiday World Praha, 12–14 March 2026
As operator of the Zittau Narrow-Gauge Railway, which runs under steam every day, SOEG has been advertising extensively in the Czech Republic for almost two decades to attract passengers, who as day trippers or holidaymakers are an important economic factor for the surrounding region. At weekends in particular, around 20% of passengers on the trains between Zittau and the termini at Kurort Oybin and Kurort Jonsdorf, which run as part of regional public transport, are visitors from the Czech Republic. However, SOEG’s commitment to steam railway tourism in Saxony extends well beyond the region – SOEG is also the sponsor of the STEAM RAILWAY ROUTE Saxony. With around 200 cooperation partners, from almost all tourist and historic railways to hotels and municipalities, the platform is one of the most broadly based tourism networks in the Free State.
In previous years, SOEG and its STEAM RAILWAY ROUTE Saxony network joined the joint Saxony presentation of TMGS – Tourismus Marketing Gesellschaft Sachsen. As no such joint presentation was offered this year, SOEG took the initiative itself and registered a stand at Holiday World, the leading Czech travel fair. This year SOEG took over the registration directly, as the STEAM RAILWAY ROUTE Saxony project has less funding available this year from the Free State’s tourism funding guidelines than in previous years. The Zittau Narrow-Gauge Railway is therefore a particular focus. Sharing the stand are Herrnhuter Sterne GmbH (Moravian Stars of Herrnhut) from Upper Lusatia and, as further partners, the Verkehrsverbund Oberelbe transport association and the tourism associations of the Ore Mountains and Chemnitz Zwickau Region. Of course, trade fair visitors and trade visitors will also receive information on the Saxony-wide STEAM RAILWAY ROUTE at the stand, as well as selected Czech-language TMGS brochures on Saxony as a travel destination.
As in previous years, SOEG has engaged the Czech media professional Petr Kumpfe, known among other things for the MDR series MENSCH NACHBAR, and the “Royal Saxon railwayman” Alfred Simm to staff the stand. The railway’s passenger numbers, which rose to 246,000 last year despite stagnating overnight stays in the region, show that constant advertising – on many other platforms as well as at trade fairs at home and abroad – pays off.
This year, the next trade fair appearances will take SOEG and its STEAM RAILWAY ROUTE Saxony marketing network to Targi Turystyki in Wrocław from 27 to 29 March, joining the TMGS Saxony presentation, and to INTERMODELLBAU in Dortmund from 16 to 19 April.
Contact:
Sächsisch-Oberlausitzer Eisenbahngesellschaft mbH
Bahnhofstraße 41
02763 Zittau
Telephone: 03583 540540
Email: info@zittauer-schmalspurbahn.de
Internet: www.www.zittauer-schmalspurbahn.de
Facebook: www.facebook.com/zittauerschmalspurbahn
Instagram: www.instagram.com/zittauerschmalspurbahn
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Sächsisch-Oberlausitzer Eisenbahngesellschaft mbH
STEAM RAILWAY ROUTE Saxony
Am Alten Güterboden 4
01445 Radebeul
Telephone: 0351 2134440
Email: info@dampfbahn-route.de
Internet: www.dampfbahn-route.de
Facebook: www.facebook.com/dbrsachsen
Instagram: www.instagram.com/dampfbahn_route_sachsen
