The Annual Conference of the “Railway Transport for Regions” Project Followed up on Meetings in Individual Regions

Today, representatives of the railway infrastructure manager, the national carrier and all 14 regions of the Czech Republic met in the Prague TOP Hotel for a conference within the perennial project of Správa železniční dopravní cesty (SŽDC) and České dráhy (ČD) named Railway Transport for Regions. The annual meeting followed up on previous meetings with representatives of local governments in individual regions which took place this year.

”I am very pleased that we have such a vast professional and political representation at today’s conference. I would like to thank my colleagues from Správa železniční dopravní cesty and České dráhy as well as to the representatives of all regions and the public for not letting this project end in its very beginning. It has still had its purpose which has been even extending into international level“, stated Mr. Pavel Surý, Director General of SŽDC. The Director General then spoke about the objectives of the railway infrastructure manager to ensure the high-quality transport infrastructure which is a core prerequisite for economic growth.

Mr. Pavel Krtek, Chairman of the Board of Directors of České dráhy talked about 4th railway package and its impact on legislation in the Czech Republic in his speech. He worked extensively on business relations between the national carrier and the regional transport clients. “České dráhy has a secured business model with the regions until 2019 and even after that year we want to defend maximum performance. We have to respond to the requirements of each client and therefore we conduct business negotiations with each of the regions and respond to individual requirements. Their attitudes differ, for instance, in the options for acquiring new rolling stock. The regions’ requirements for new vehicles are 35 billion crowns, but there are less than 20 billion available. Therefore, there is a risk that some regions will not be covered", said Mr. Pavel Krtek.

The basic objectives of the Railway Transport for Regions project, which started in 2015, is to promote a common approach to address the issues of regional transport optimization, increase the efficiency of rail transport operations on regional lines, ensure the interconnection of rail links between individual regions and the linking of regional lines to the backbone rail network or to coordinate the ideas of regional governments, infrastructure options and carrier requirements.