The Czech rail infrastructure manager Správa železnic (SŽ) selected a consortium of Sudop Praha, Egis Rail, Moravia Consult, and Metroprojekt to design a section of the future Prague – Brno high-speed rail.
The consortium submitted a CZK 579.17 million bid (EUR 22.8 million) and the contract has been signed on November 11, 2024.
The consortium will be responsible for the design of a Bíteš rail section, in the Svitla nad Sazavou-Velka, in the Vysočina Region. The scope of work includes developing the entire infrastructure and systems, including track work, railway systems, road networks, bridges, EMC Studies, RAMS and traction simulations for high-speed rail. Egis is responsible for the HSL signaling (approximately 50 km), a 15-km track section, one station, bridges, and roads in the designated area.
“The designers will focus not only on the existing route of the line, but also on finding the best solution for integrating it into the landscape. The contract also includes connecting the centre of Jihlava to the high-speed line, incorporating the technical design of the future Jihlava HSR terminal and modernising the existing line from Velké Meziříčí to Křižanov,” said Jakub Bazgier, the Director of the VRT Construction Administration of SŽ.
Each of these sections will be assessed separately within the EIA process.
The more than 80 km long section will be essential for connecting the centre of the Vysočina region to the high-speed rail system between Prague, Brno and Ostrava. It will ensure better and faster accessibility to the regional capital, which will thus gain better connections with, for example, Třebíčí or Havlíčký Brod.
The connection of Jihlava to the high-speed rail line includes the expansion of the Jihlava Město railway station with a new platform and the construction of connecting tracks, which will allow all trains to enter directly without the need to change direction. Direct connections are proposed from the center of Jihlava to Prague with an expected travel time of approximately 50 minutes and to Brno with a travel time of approximately 40 minutes.
Prague – Brno high-speed rail will provide connection with Vienna (Austria) and Bratislava (Slovakia) through the 44 km VRT Jižní Morava section designed at a speed of 350 km/h. This section will reduce travel time on Brno – Břeclav route for regional services as the long distance services will be shifted to the new line providing increased capacity for long distance services, as well as suburban and regional services. According to the transport analysis, up to 60,000 passengers will use the fast connection between Prague and Brno every day, spending only one hour journey.
Prague – Brno high-speed rail will also deliver cross-border connection with Katowice (Poland) through Ostrava. The connection between Ostrava and Prague will also be significantly shortened, taking only 1 hour and 36 minutes.
The future high-speed railway line will allow trains to run at a maximum speed of 350 km/h and will provide more transport connections that will serve small towns along the route. This will enable the rail connection of high-speed and existing railways and thanks to it, residents of Havlíčkov Brod, Žďár nad Sázavou or Hranice will also travel for a significantly shorter time.
The line is also important from an international point of view, as the VRT Prague – Brno – Ostrava/Břeclav will form the backbone of the high-speed railway network in the Central Europe. It will also be used by connections to Warsaw, Vienna or Bratislava, or Budapest.
The high-speed line from Prague to Brno, Břeclav and Ostrava will be the busiest in the Czech Republic, as it will connect our three largest cities. High-speed trains on this line also serve Jihlava, Olomouc and other regional centres.
The section is part of Czechia’s plan to build a high-speed rail network which has been under development since 2017. The country is actively developing its first high-speed rail network connecting Germany to Slovakia and Hungary, with plans to extend to Romania, as part of the TEN-T network under European financing (CEF funds).
Egis Rail is already working on another 8 planning permit designs for HSL in the Czech Republic.
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