Construction season is in full swing, impact on traffic will be lessened this year

“Travelling by train is a sustainable mode of transport and its popularity is growing in the Czech Republic. It is therefore necessary to continue the high pace of modernisation of lines and to improve their condition and capacity. All the more so as Správa železnic can draw the highest amount of funding of all transport sectors this year,” stated the Minister of Transport Martin Kupka.

The allocated funds are mainly directed towards the implementation of 38 planned major constructions. Nineteen of them have already been launched or there has been a call for tenders for the implementation. Currently 174 kilometres of lines are under construction. Construction works have started on one of the sections of the planned line to the airport, between the stations Praha-Bubny – Praha-Výstaviště. The reconstruction of platforms in Lovosice and the station building in Karviná is in full swing.

Správa železnic has already selected the contractor for the replacement of the first level crossing on the corridor with an overpass in Olomouc-Holice. Tenders are underway for the construction of barrier-free access to platforms in Kolín, the reconstruction of the section Karlštejn – Beroun, the first part of the modernisation of the station Praha-Smíchov, the double-tracking of the Braník Bridge or the reconstruction of the station Havířov and the connecting section to the stop Havířov střed. We are also looking for a contractor for several installations of the European Train Control System (ETCS). More than 750 kilometres of lines are already equipped with it.

“We plan to launch tenders for other major events during this year. Within the project framework of the railway to the airport, this will include the modernisation of the station Praha Masarykovo nádraží (Prague Masaryk Station). The second part of the reconstruction of the Prague Smíchov station and the construction of a new footbridge over the track facility,” said Jiří Svoboda, Director General of Správa železnic.

Work is about to start on the connection between Brno and Havlíčkův Brod in the sections Přibyslav – Pohled and Vlkov u Tišnova – Křižanov. On the same line there is also the station Brno-Královo Pole, which is awaiting modernisation of platforms and construction of a new station building. The billion-crowns projects also include the reconstruction of the sections Lipník nad Bečvou – Drahotuše and Kyjice – Chomutov. In terms of safety, the replacement of the five-track level crossing at the station Studénka with an underpass is important.

Where will the biggest closures take place
“At the end of last year, we managed to restore train operations on several modernised lines. Another important date will be 1 July this year, when long-distance trains between Prague and Brno will return to their usual route via Česká Třebová. This will significantly reduce travel time not only between these cities but also to the metropolises of Slovakia, Austria and Hungary,” described Minister of Transport Martin Kupka. This change will be made possible by the completion of the modernisation of the line between Brandýs and Ústí nad Orlicí, where one-month closures of each track will take place until the end of June.

On the corridor lines, the ongoing reconstruction of Pardubice Main Station will also cause slight restrictions. Only one track will be available throughout the year in the direction from Lanžhot to Kúty in Slovakia. Due to the construction of a railway bridge on the D55 motorway, one track will always be used from 15 May until 27 October on the sections between Staré Město u Uherského Hradiště and Napajedla.

As part of the project implementation of the railway to Václav Havel Airport Prague, train operation between the stations Praha-Bubny and Praha-Dejvice is suspended until the end of next year. From 1 July, the operation between Kladno and Kladno-Dubí will stop for more than a year. Traffic over the Braník Bridge in Prague, which is located between the Radotín and Krč railway stations, will probably be stopped from mid-October. The connection of the new bridge over the Elbe River and the activation of the signalling equipment at Pardubice Main Station will have a significant impact on the railway transport between the East Bohemian metropolises. From 9 October to 9 December, trains will not be able to run between Pardubice Main Station and Rosice railway station.

Billions for buildings and repairs of other lines
Passengers will begin to use the station buildings, which have undergone extensive reconstruction in the past period. These include, for example, part of the interiors of the Fanta building at the Prague Main Station or other listed buildings in České Budějovice and at the Pilsen Main Station. The high-rise buildings in Pardubice and Teplice v Čechách are now in full swing. In total, Správa železnic will spend CZK 2.5 billion in this chapter.

A number of major repairs are also planned; Správa železnic has CZK 18.6 billion available for these and for regular maintenance. With a cost of more than 200 million, the most important works in this respect are those between Zruč nad Sázavou and Červené Janovice in the Kutná Hora region. Other planned projects include repairs of the line sections Blatno u Jesenice – Petrohrad in the Louny region, Kunovice – Veselí nad Moravou, Hýskov – Roztoky u Křivoklátu or Nová Pec – Horní Planá in the Šumava region. The repair of the overhead contact line between Stará Boleslav and Dřísy is also significant.

In order to maintain the necessary parameters of the corridor lines, work will be carried out in the sections Praha-Holešovice – Vraňany, Praha-Běchovice – Poříčany and Třebovice v Čechách – Hoštejn as part of the so-called cyclic maintenance.

Improved train regularity
Passenger trains showed better regularity in the first quarter of this year than last year. 92.2 percent of trains arrived on time or within five minutes late to their destination. This compares with 90.4 percent for the same period last year. The number of delayed connections was significantly reduced from 67,411 to 55,135, an improvement of more than 18 percent. The average length of delays fell from 14.9 to 13.7 minutes. The year-

on-year comparison of the total length of delays caused by Správa železnic is even better. Whereas in the first quarter of last year it was 671,855 minutes, this year it was 384,735. This represents a drop of 42.7 percent. 

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