8

rail transport l interview l Ministry of Transport of the Czech Republic

the market, or prepare new stops. Our largest carrier, České dráhy, a.s., aims to

continue modernising their rolling stock;

all these aspects should make train travel

more attractive.

We also support technological progress

on the railways, both in the area of further

increasing the safety of rail transport by installing a unified European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS), and in the

area of new line electrification, which

complies with the State Energy Concept.

p What are the most important

international projects in railway

transport for you?

line through the Vysočina region more

attractive, which can ease the corridor

of the Kolín - Brno section. This line was

used primarily by freight trains from the

1950s until recently. Then, once the modernization of the transit corridor was

completed, freight carriers moved most of

the trains to the route via Česká Třebová

due to lower transport costs. However,

this route is heavily taken up by long-distance passenger transport. We do not

want to disadvantage freight carriers by limiting their traffic in the corridor – actually we would like to motivate them towards

using the parallel route. If a bank engine

was provided to all carriers, it would not

be necessary to use the congested corridor route with heavier trains and the capacity could then be used to increase the

reliability of transport in the corridor, or for

other trains that cannot currently be run

with the required parameters.

Only practice will show if this assumption is true. However, in order to introduce

a bank engine service, it was necessary to

measure the effects of a more modern

electric locomotive train on infrastructure

elements. These tests are currently being

evaluated. The introduction of the service

is expected in the next year.

p The budget for Správa

železnic (Railway Administration)

for this year has risen to 47

billion, where will it be seen?

It will be seen in the commencement of

new sections, such as the Pardubice railway junction or phase 4 of the Plzeň railway junction. It is obvious that substantial

funds are allocated to the continuation of

large construction projects such as Prague-Smíchov – Radotín; Prague Main Station – Hostivař, phase 2; the Sudoměřice Votice construction project containing

tunnels; or the Soběslav – Doubí section

near Tábor. In Moravia, for example, the

Olomouc – Uničov section electrification

project is ongoing, and there is the Přerov

special 2020

T+T Technika a trh

railway station refurbishment project, phase 2. In addition, a number of smaller projects are taking place on regional lines,

and repairs financed from the CEF Blending call on the 1st or 2nd transit railway

corridor.

p What are the key steps

leading to the start of high-speed

line construction?

Several feasibility studies are ongoing and

intensive communication and coordination with neighbouring countries is also under way. High-speed line construction, as

well as other parts of the conventional infrastructure, then begin with fundamental

steps including permission processes, i.e.

EIA, land planning procedures and building permits. Without these, no construction project can be implemented. In 2020,

for example, the contractor for EIA and

documentation for land planning decisions for the Prague – Běchovice – Poříčany construction project should be known

based on a tendering process.

p What is the national

rail transport strategy?

The main document is the Transport Policy for the 2014–2020 period with a view

to 2050. This is currently being updated.

This is followed by other sub-strategies.

In the area of freight transport, there is the

Concept of Freight Transport, which includes railway transport.

The Ministry of Transport is also focusing

on the development of a sustainable railway system that will include European elements in terms of interoperability. Our

aim is to shorten travel times for passenger transport, increase the capacity of line

sections or stations due to freight transport, increase the occupancy of trains,

make maximum use of track capacity

where there will be no improvement

through construction in the near future,

and offer passengers a simpler form of

check-in where we have more carriers on

The new Prague – Dresden high-speed rail link is intensively under way, which includes the construction of a new tunnel under the Krušné Hory mountains. Now

there are ongoing discussions of working

groups at ministry level and infrastructure

managerial level. This connection is perceived as an integral part of the HSL between Berlin – Prague and Vienna, and

between Prague and Frankfurt.

Priority is also being given to the modernisation and electrification of the Pilsen Domažlice – Česká Kubice – border station – Munich/Nuremberg line as a future

long-distance passenger and high capacity freight railway connection from the

Czech Republic to Bavaria and related directions. Recently, discussions with BMVI

have intensified in order to coordinate on

the preparation of the modernisation of

the German section.

Last but not least, discussions are under

way within the framework of V4 cooperation, which includes the preparation of

a high-speed link between Warsaw, Prague,

Brno, Bratislava, and Budapest.

p There have been a number

of level crossing accidents in the

recent past. Are you working on

higher safety at level crossings?

(e.g. adding warning lights, installing barriers, and new technologies for composite

barriers with LED diodes)

Currently, work is under way to increase

the safety of crossings and these intents

will continue to be monitored as part of

project preparation. It must be said that in

the vast majority of cases accidents are

caused by a lack of discipline of road

users, rather than by rail traffic. Within the

activities of BESIP, attention to this is also

being directed to the general public. p

www.mdcr.cz

Thank you for the interview

magazine editorial staff