Prague metro plans to launch love train

PRAGUE - Rail passengers searching for love in the Czech capital need look no further than the daily commute as the city makes plans to designate carriages on its underground trains for singles.

Prague transport company Ropid wants to set aside carriages on some or all of its trains for singles seeking a soul mate, a service that could launch by the end of this year.

The city-owned company will start polling passengers to determine whether they would be interested.

Spokesman Filip Drapal said the initiative was one of the activities the city-owned company hoped would lure people out of their cars and onto public transportation.

"We want to emphasize that public transport is not only a means of travel but that you can do things there that you cannot do in your car," he told Reuters.

Prague, with a population of 1.2 million, attracted 5.4 million foreign visitors in 2012 with a mix of centuries-old architecture and cobblestone streets and cheap Pilsner beer.

The city's three metro lines span more than 59 km and transported 580 million passengers in 2011.