Press releases

Optimisation of the line section of approximately 1.5 kilometres from the D2 motorway overpass near Lanžhot to the state border with Slovakia is the main focus of the construction project Finalisation of the 1st railway corridor in the line section Lanžhot (Czech Republic) – Kúty (Slovakia). Správa železnic has already signed a contract with the contractors, which are Skanska and Elektrizace železnic Praha. The tendered price is CZK 595.7 million excluding VAT. Construction works start in February and will last until the end of next year. The project will be co-financed by the EU from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) programme.

Before Správa železnic starts building a new line to the Václav Havel Airport Prague in the section Praha-Ruzyně (excl.) – Praha-Letiště Václava Havla (excl.), one last step in project preparation remains. This last step is the preparation of documentation for the construction permit. Work will be carried out by the association of AFRY CZ s.r.o. and AF-Infrastructure AB, which won the tender with a price of CZK 109,900,500 excluding VAT. Estimated value of the contract was almost CZK 119 million. However, price was not the only evaluation criterion; expertise of the winning bidder determined a 40% stake of the selection decision. The project will also include a digital building model (BIM). The actual works should start in two years.

Passengers and local residents will be able to use the new pedestrian underpass at the train stop Blansko město (Blansko Town) at the end of this year. Its construction just has started recently and, along with the ongoing construction of a bridge over the corridor line, it will allow the elimination of the level crossing in Rožmitálova Street. Investment costs will total CZK 183.2 million, civil works will be performed by FIRESTA-Fišer, rekonstrukce a stavby a.s. Next month, Správa železnic launches yet another investment project in the territory of the municipality Blansko, namely the rebuilding of a bridge near the stop Dolní Lhota.

Modernisation of railway lines, junctions and stations, including station buildings, preparation of high-speed railway lines and improving safety at level crossings – these are the priorities of Správa železnic for 2022. The infrastructure manager will resume last year's successful utilising of financial resources from EU funds and used 99.9% of all available European subsidy resources for the modernisation of railway infrastructure. In 2022, Správa železnic will operate with a budget of CZK 53 billion.

Already at the turn of June and July first trains start running on the rebuilt line between Votice and Sudoměřice at the border of Central and South Bohemia. The majority of an approximately 20-kilometre section will run on the new line relocation allowing an increased speed of trains up to 200 km/h and ensuring a higher capacity of the railway infrastructure as well as a smoother railway traffic. On Friday, 4 February, Minister of Transport Martin Kupka inspected the construction.

Správa železnic, in cooperation with Siemens and ČD Cargo, has successfully completed compatibility testing of the Siemens Vectron locomotives for operation under the European Train Control System (ETCS), which is also being gradually implemented on the Czech railway lines. These locomotives, one of which is also part of Správa železnic’s rolling stock, can thus be the first type of rail vehicles operated in the Czech Republic to fully benefit from the advantages of running under ETCS supervision.

Today, Správa železnic held an opening ceremony of the renovated passenger building in the railway station Litvínov, which should also serve as facility of the newly built transport terminal. The premises of the passenger building have been redesigned entirely and they are aside from that wheelchair accessible. In addition to the facade, the public spaces have also undergone a significant alteration. The renovation works have taken a year and were coordinated with the municipality of Litvínov, the investor and owner of the terminal.

In 2021, there was a further significant increase in safety at crossings of railway lines with roads. Správa železnic upgraded 186 level crossings on its network improving the level of safety at 108 of them. The trend of increasing safety is also evident in the statistics of accidents and incidents. Last year the number of fatalities in collisions at level crossing decreased by 12 compared to the previous year.

Modern passenger check-in areas, barrier-free accesses and new technical facilities. These are not the only benefits that more station buildings across the country can boast now. Správa železnic has completely reconstructed 73 of such premises in 2021. The financial costs spent on construction and maintenance will exceed CZK 2 billion.

In order to proceed with the preparation of the investment action, Správa železnic has announced preliminary market consultations with the objective of gathering information from future potential contractors for the optimal design and implementation of the project New construction of the railway line Praha-Smíchov – Beroun. The launch of the preliminary market consultation is also announced in the Official Journal of the European Union, via the TED (Tenders Electronic Daily). The contracting authority will open the preliminary market consultation to all contractors who prove experience in the construction of bored tunnels longer than 500 metres in the field of transport construction and complete a registration form.