České dráhy (ČD) announced its plans to invest CZK 12 billion (EUR 480 million) in the development of its train maintenance facilities by 2031. More than CZK 6 billion (EUR 240 million) will be invested in new repair halls and their major renovation projects.
The Czech company will construct four completely new maintenance halls where there is no suitable space for modernisation.
In 2026 – 2027, the company expects to complete the construction of three maintenance halls in Havlíčkův Brod, Cheb and České Budějovice; these last two facilities will be fitted with 3-track hall with a length of 176 metres, while Havlíčkův Brod facility will have 2-track hall with a length of 67 metres. The construction of a new maintenance hall in Cheb will start already in May this year, the renovation of the entrance group of the Prague South Maintenance Centre has already started and the modernisation of the washing line technology should start in the same place by the end of the year. An extension of the hall in Šumperk is in the implementation phase and the construction of a new hall in Havlíčkův Brod should also start this year.
In locations which are already fitted with suitable halls, they will be extensively modernised and extended to meet current operational needs. The company will modernise six halls. Significant capital expenditures will also be directed towards the construction and modernisation of vehicle washing facilities, sanitary tracks and technological facilities.
Some of the new train maintenance facilities have already been put into operation. For example, a modern maintenance hall in Brno-Maloměřice was completed in 2021, a hall in Pilsen was completed in 2022 and a new railway washing line was completed in Havlíčkův Brod in 2023.
More than CZK 1 billion (EUR 40 million) will be spent on the construction of new sanitary tracks and the doubling of the track connection between the Prague South Maintenance Centre and the Správa železnic’s rail network. Approximately CZK 3.5 billion (EUR 140 million) will go towards the renovation and establishment of stabling track systems, inspection channels, the establishment of a new underfloor lathe in Moravia for operation in the eastern part of the country, traction conversion projects and other construction works at maintenance centres all over the Czech Republic.
Approximately CZK 1.5 billion (EUR 60 million) is planned for the period from 2024 to 2031 on the acquisition of machinery. These capex projects include the conversion of the power supply system from 3 kV DC to 25 kV 50 Hz AC, the construction of a high-voltage testing facility in Bohumín and modernisation of such a facility in Prague, the acquisition of modern hoists and mobile platforms for access to equipment on vehicle roofs, wheel measuring instruments and defectoscopy equipment, e.g. special probes and other equipment.
“Servicing and care of the railway rolling stock is the third pillar of our business besides the passenger and freight transport. Our objective is to provide comprehensive care for our vehicles in cooperation with suitable partners and to offer operation maintenance as well as periodical renewals to other vehicle owners in the Czech Republic and abroad,” said Michal Krapinec, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Director General of České dráhy.
ČD currently operates approximately 2,000 traction vehicles and almost 1,800 passenger carriages. Thanks to an extensive modernisation programme, which envisages capital expenditures of more than CZK 160 billion (EUR 6.4 billion) over the next 10 years, a number of previously traditional vehicles will be replaced by new units. Other dozens to hundreds of vehicles in both passenger and freight transport are operated in the Czech Republic by other carriers.
As the new and existing rolling stock and needs train maintenance facilities, “this is why we need to invest in service facilities and technologies which will make it possible for us to take full advantage of the characteristics of their design, such as a component exchange system or remote diagnostics and transmission of fault data between the vehicles and the depot. We must also adapt to the different nature of vehicles and the organisation of their operation activities,” says Michal Kraus, Deputy Director General of ČD for Service.
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