Travelling by Train from Prague to Tábor Will Get Reduced to One Hour

05.06.2018

Today, Správa železniční dopravní cesty (SŽDC) festively launched the modernization of the railway line from Sudoměřice u Tábora to Votice. The objective of one of the most important investments in railway infrastructure is to increase transport speed, smoothness and safety on this approximately twenty kilometres long section of Czech Rail Transit Corridor IV.

Modernization of the line Sudoměřice – Votice is one of the final parts of the construction set on Rail Transit Corridor IV which connects Germany and Austria through Děčín, Praha and České Budějovice. A second track will be added to the currently single-track section as well as two tunnels and a new railway station Červený Újezd. Construction works should be completed in 2021. Trains’ speed will increase up to 160 kph which will allow a reduction of express trains’ journey times between Praha and Tábor to one hour.

”Modernization of the railway connection between Central Bohemia and South Bohemia Region is an exceptional construction not only by its extent but also by technical demandingness. At a time where almost no underground constructions are carried out in the Czech Republic, this pair of tunnels with a total length of 1.5 km represents an important construction element which will moreover allow a considerable reduction of journey times from Praha to South Bohemia“, said Mr. Jiří Svoboda, Director General of SŽDC.

The construction supplier is the company OHL ŽS. ”For us, this construction implementation presents a possibility to continue our long-term tradition of railway civil engineering, to apply our rich experience with implementing corridor constructions and especially to use our able personnel and machinery in decisive fields such as the railway superstructure and substructure, bridges, tunnels, ground and road constructions“, said Mr. Roman Kocúrek, Director General of OHL ŽS.

The line Sudoměřice – Votice will be mostly diverted from its current path which will result in a route reduction by two kilometres. Builders will construct two tunnels in this section, – the Mezno tunnel 840 metres long and the Deboreč tunnel 660 metres long. The current stations Střezimíř, Ješetice and Heřmaničky will be replaced by a single one called Červený Újezd. It will be completed by railway stops Mezno, Střezimíř, Červený Újezd, Ješetice and Heřmaničky. In the deep valley between the Ješetice and Heřmaničky stops, builders will construct three long scaffold bridges, the longest one being 244 metres long.

Construction works as such were launched on 1 May. Since that time, greenery cutting down has been going in the future relocation path together with building a construction site and access roads. In the months to come, excavation works of the new tunnels’ parts will follow, consolidation embankments will be built on sites of the future bridge scaffoldings’ abutments and construction of smaller bridges will be launched.

This year, only short-term (daily) closures will occur; more specifically this September and November when substitute bus transport will be introduced in the section Chotoviny – Olbramovice. A continuous four-day line closure will occur next March and April; an even longer interruption of train rides by one more week is planned for spring in 2021.

Total investment costs of this operation designated as Modernization of the line Sudoměřice – Votice equal CZK 7,159,049,000 (VAT excluded). A request for co-financing this project under the Operational Programme Transport 2014–2020 from the EU Cohesion Fund was submitted at the end of 2017. In case of its approval, the EU contribution can amount up to CZK 5,151,794,403. National financing is provided by the State Fund for Transport Infrastructure.
 

Files