The rail network is in rather poor condition, making it a less attractive alternative to road transport. Although certain railway connections have been opened to private operators, competition is still low due to various obstacles, including limited public tendering of public-service contracts, technical and safety regulations, and operational barriers.
The economic recovery of the Czech Republic is becoming more balanced as supportive financial conditions, government spending, rising confidence and stronger incomes are strengthening domestic demand in 2014 and 2015. The strength of domestic demand is offsetting the headwinds to exports from near-term weakness in export markets. As exports also recover, economic slack will diminish and push inflation to 2% by 2017. The economy is projected to gradually recover in response to stronger exports, reflecting growth in export markets.
In 2015, the European Commission adopted the 2014-2020 Operational Programme for Transport in the Czech Republic, for the improvement of transport infrastructures across the country. With a total budget of EUR 5.4 billion, out of which EUR 4.7 billion comes from the Cohesion Fund and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the Programme aims to upgrade the existing road and railway infrastructure and to develop adequate and sustainable transport networks in the country.
“This is the first strategy for the development and maintenance of the transport infrastructure of the Czech Republic, which is based on the new national multi-modal transport model. The strategy was evaluated during 2016 and updated”, the Ministry of Transports in the Czech Republic announced.
Currently, railway transport in the Czech Republic could be described as having insufficient attractiveness and not using its potential. Nevertheless, the recent Transport Strategy adopted for the 2014 – 2020 financing period aims at an increase of market share in railway passenger and freight transport for medium and long distances and to lower the oil dependence of transport system.
By adopting the new Strategy, the Czech Republic plans to improve the capacity and the quality of railways by developing the railway infrastructure, the necessary innovative technologies, contributing to the creation of the single transport market and harmonising the conditions between transport modes.
The Ministry of Transports agrees that based on the national and European transport policy, the Czech Republic has to focus on the following objectives in the area of infrastructure: corridors and railway hubs should be completed, new fast backbone of long-distance transport, capacity and speed for freight transport, creating the basic requirements of interoperability, connection of Prague Airport to the railway transport system, developing the capacity for suburban transport services, improvement of the parameters for the rest of the network, electrification of the rail network, technology development and make better use of the regional lines.
The new TEN-T policy expects that competitiveness of railway will increase due to construction or modernisation of high-speed lines (200 km/h and more) which is essential for the railways to become a passenger transport backbone. In the Czech Republic, the concept is elaborated in the form of the so-called rapid services (RS). According to the Ministry of Transports there are a few priority projects as Prague – Lovosice (core network), Prague – Brno – Přerov (partly core network), Plzeň – Domažlice (depends on Germany) and the preparation of other very important sections, as the existing lines capacity could be allocated to freight transport.
For the 2014-2020 timeframe the transport authorities envisage particularly the development of Kolín – Nymburk – Děčín railway line. Also, other lines will have to be modernised to maintain free capacity for freight transport development and the support of sidings and terminals as they are sources of transport demand. The authorities also stated that the implementation of ETCS is on the agenda of railway development with priority on busy lines and gradually on the entire network.
For the time being, high-speed rail in the Czech Republic is at planning stage only. Even though České Dráhy (the national rail passenger operator) owns and operates multiple rolling stock capable of speeds of 200 km/h, currently there is no infrastructure capable of speeds of over 160 km/h.
The Ministry of Transport is planning a high-speed rail network which will be approximately 660 km long. Several studies of a possible network have been completed, but there have not yet been any concrete proposals. There are no expectations for any high speed rail in the Czech Republic before 2020.
Czech transport policies see the decisive importance of railway transport in the following two areas: freight transport corridors and high-speed long-distance passenger transport. Czech Republic will improve the maintenance of transport infrastructure by the increase of financial resources for maintenance.
The only idea towards high speed rail transport took shape this year, when the Czech Republic and the German state of Saxony have agreed on the joint construction of a new high-speed rail connection between Prague and Dresden. The line, which involves the construction of a tunnel under the Krušné Hory mountain range, should be in operation by 2030. It is expected to cut the current journey time between the two cities from two hours to just one.
Saxon State Minister of Transport Martin Dulig presented the conclusions of Dresden – Prague HSR feasibility study. The study proposes the construction of the 26 km Erzgebirge Tunnel, at Germany – Czech Republic border, between Heidenau and Ústí nad Labem. From Ústi nad Labem, the line will cross the River Elbe on a new bridge, which will be constructed alongside the existing rail bridge. The new Dresden – Prague line will reduce time travel to 50 minutes, from 2 hours. Saxony will detail the studies and intends to be included into the Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan.
Transit corridors to be modernised
Completing the modernisation of transit corridors (the National corridors III and IV finishing the European priority projects No. 22 – Athens – Sophia – Budapest – Vienna – Nuremberg/Dresden/Linz and No. 23 – Gdansk – Warsaw – Brno/Bratislava – Vienna), modernising the main railway junctions, connecting the transit railway corridors I, III and IV in the Prague railway junction are also on the agenda.
At present, the modernisation of transit railway corridors III and IV is in progress. As completed projects in this context, we can mention the modernisation of the railway transit corridor I and II which make part of the core trans-European network TEN-T.
In line with the document Transport Policy of the Czech Republic in the 2014-2020 period, SŽDC focuses on the accelerated completion of railway transit corridors and continues modernising railways on the main TEN-T network and railways that are part of the freight railway corridor network. In the past, not sufficient attention was paid to the area of freight transport, therefore SŽDC intends to deal with this topic more thoroughly when planning future railway network development concepts. In respect of environment-friendliness and economy of operation, an important issue is also increasing the number of electrified tracks in the Czech Republic. The modernisation of the rail infrastructure also comprises technological construction arising from the context of European standards. These include in particular the construction of GSM-R and ETCS (European Train Control System) in compliance with the amendment to the ERTMS (European Rail Traffic Management System) National implementation plan.
TEN priority rail projects
- Brno – Prague – Nürnberg
- Prague – Linz
National rail projects
- Cervenka – Zábreh na Morave
- Olomouc Junction
- Prague Junction new Link
- Branch A 10 sections
In August 2016, Czech Railway Infrastructure Administration – SZDC has appointed Strabag Rail to repair and upgrade a 46-kilometre stretch of railway between Okříšky and Zastávka u Brna.
Co-financed by the EU, the EUR 34 million project is due to get underway immediately and will be completed by July 2017.
The project, which will allow for shorted journey times on the route, will involve modifications to the track geometry, repairs to the track and substructure, bridge works and re-strengthening crossings.
The new TEN-T policy expects that competitiveness of railway will increase due to construction or modernisation of high-speed lines (200 km/h and more) which is essential for the railways to become a passenger transport backbone. In the Czech Republic, the concept is elaborated in the form of the so-called rapid services (RS). According to the Ministry of Transports there are a few priority projects as Prague – Lovosice (core network), Prague – Brno – Přerov (partly core network), Plzeň – Domažlice (depends on Germany) and the preparation of other very important sections, as the existing lines capacity could be allocated to freight transport.
For the 2014-2020 period the transport authorities envisage particularly the development of Kolín – Nymburk – Děčín railway line. Also, other lines will have to be modernised to maintain free capacity for freight transport development and the support of sidings and terminals as they are sources of transport demand. The authorities also stated that the implementation of ETCS is on the agenda of railway development with priority on busy lines and gradually on the entire network.
Czech Railway Infrastructure Administration, SŽDC announced that it has introduced the GSM-R system on Kolín to Brno railway line. The project included the instalation on Kolín – Havlíčkův Brod – Křižanov – Brno line and the region around Prague (a total of 110 kilometers for the Prague – Beroun – Králův Dvůr, Prague – Benešov and the Prague – Lysá nad Labem lines).
”Construction of the GSM-R network plays a key role mainly for operation reasons; passengers will however benefit from its assets as well. Railway operation will get not only simpler but also faster, especially as far as international transport is concerned,“ Pavel Surý, Director General of the Railway Infrastructure Administration said.
by Elena Ilie
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