The modernisation of a key section of the transit corridor between Prague and Plzen has ended

11.12.2018

With the complete commissioning of the Ejpovice tunnel, the modernisation of the currently fourteen kilometre long section of the third rail transit corridor between Rokycany and Plzen has ended. The project is co-financed by the European Union from the Cohesion Fund within the Operational Program for Transport. Mr Marc Lemaître the Director General of DG Regio for the European Commission accompanied by the Minister for Transport Dan Ťok took part in todays ceremonial ending of the works.

"Thanks to the Rokycany-Plzen railway project, part of which is the newest longest tunnel in the Czech Republic, the journey by train from the centre of Prague to the centre of Plzen will be shortened to 1 hour and 14 minutes and thus becomes shorter than travelling by car. The European Union contributed an amount of 3.5 billion crowns to the project. The new railway track is part of the main Rhine-Danube corridor and thus brings benefits not only to the inhabitants of the Plzen Region, but also to the entire Czech Republic and European Union through international passenger and goods transport" said the Marc Lemaître, the Director General of DG Regio. 

“Plzen is one of the centres which should be accessible by rail from Prague within an hour and we are gradually achieving this aim. Another aim is to improve the connection with Germany through a planned raising of the speed between Prague and Munich. The achieval of this aim is facilitated by the recent decision by the Federal Ministry of Transport to raise the project to electrify and modernise the German section of the route to the highest (urgent) priority in the federal plan for transport routes,“ said the Minister for Transport Dan Ťok.

“The modernisation of a further part of the rail corridor between Prague and Cheb shortened train travel times, raised the safety of railway operation and, of course, raised the comfort of travellers. Part of the project was the construction of the longest railway tunnel on our network, which is also unique in the use of the latest technology to ensure the safe operation of trains, “ said the Director General of SŽDC, Mr Jiří Svoboda.

“The crucial part of the section was the construction of two single-tracked tunnel tubes on the Ejpovice tunnel, which in its length became the longest railway underground structure in the Czech Republic. The team of the Viktorie tunnel boring machine used their experience in the boring of a section of the Prague metro using similar technology. Despite unexpected geological problems they managed to hand over the works to the investor on time in cooperation with their joint venture partners Subterra and subcontractors,“ said Pavel Pilát, General Director of Metrostav.

The project resolved the modernisation of the track leading from Rokycany to the stop at Ejpovice mostly along the existing railway body. Between Ejpovice and the Plzeň-Doubravka stop a new alignment was constructed, which shortened the previous route by 6.1 kilometres and on which the new Ejpovice tunnel lies, driven under the Homolka and Chlum terrain forms. From the Plzeň-Doubravka stop to Plzen main station it returns to the existing route which, however, was completely reconstructed.

The crucial works on the project was the Ejpovice tunnel, which is formed from two single-tracked tubes interconnected by connector corridors. Its route was selected to allow speeds of 200 km/hour. The length of both of the single-tracked tubes from the eastern entrance portal to the western exit portal is approximately 4150 m. As part of the works bridges and culverts were either built or reconstructed, there are new noise barriers in residential areas and a significant modernisation of the safety sytem was carried out. Passenger comfort was also improved by the construction of standard platform edges at a height of 550 mm. The platforms also have barrier free access. The stations and stops were equipped with new lighting and information systems.

The modernised section Rokycany – Plzeň is part of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) and lies on the western branch of the III railway transit corridor Prague – Plzen – Cheb – state border with Germany. Part of the works on the project, the so called 1st phase, was co-financed within the Operational Program for Transport 2007-2013, its 2nd phase is  being carried out within the current Operational Program for Transport 2014-2020. The estimated total investment costs of the works (1st and 2nd phase) amounted to 6.783 billion crowns excluding DPH. The planned contribution by the European Union from the Cohesion Fund for the whole project could reach an amount of 3.520 billion crowns. The national financing of the project was provided by the State Fund for Transport Infrastructure. The contractor for the works, called The modernisation of the Rokycany – Plzen railway, was a joint venture of the companies Metrostav and Subterra.

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