According to Dušan Gavenda, the spokesman of the Railway Administration, preparations for a new dispatching hall have already begun in the building of the Central Dispatch Office of the Railway Administration in Prague. The remote traffic control in the section of the 4th corridor between Prague and Votice will be moved from the temporary workplaces to it and will be extended by the control of the Votice – České Budějovice section. In it, the construction of a remote control interlocking device (DOZ) connected with the installation of a single European train protection system (ETCS) began at the end of autumn.

The installation of ETCS level 2 will follow on from this year’s commissioning of the system in the section Prague-Uhříněves – Votice. After installation as far as České Budějovice, the coverage of the line by the European security system will be extended by another 107 kilometers. ETCS will be linked to the remote control system. As part of the construction, it will be built to modify the existing station and track security equipment and level crossing signaling.

Work between Votice and České Budějovice includes the construction of radio block centers, modification of the radio network, construction of service workplaces and a transmission system. In the section Nemanice – Ševětín, there will also be construction modifications of technological parts of dispatch buildings. In Hluboká nad Vltavou-Zámostí, Dobřejovice, Chotýčany and Ševětín, it will be necessary to place the technology of security and communication equipment and heavy current in the reconstructed premises.

The project and implementation of the ETCS + DOZ Votice – České Budějovice construction has been provided by AŽD since May. It succeeded in the public tender with a bid price of 1,985.8 million crowns. The construction work should be completed by the end of 2022.

Several constructions are currently underway, completion is a necessary condition for the implementation of this project. These include the modernization of the line in the Soběslav – Doubí and Sudoměřice – Votice sections or the reconstruction of the station building at the České Budějovice main railway station.

In practice, the introduction of the new system will also mean a change in staffing at the stations. For example, an automated system should do without dispatchers altogether. In the classic sense, the dispatchers on the Prague – České Budějovice line should end. However, there will be emergency workplaces in some stations, which also applies to České Budějovice. The entire route will be managed from Prague, prospectively within the entire 4th corridor, ie up to the border with Austria in Horní Dvořiště. However, according to Dušan Gavenda, there will be an emergency workplace in České Budějovice plus a regional dispatching workplace for regional lines. Major changes in the introduction of the new system are expected in 2022 and 2023. For example, for steam trains for nostalgic journeys, this is a possible exception on newly modified lines.

The ETCS system safely monitors the train’s progress against any non-compliance with the Stop signal and also monitors compliance with the maximum permitted speed. If they are not respected, he first warns the driver and then intervenes in the driving of the vehicle. Within the ETCS Level 2 system, communication takes place between the trackside part and the ETCS on-board parts of the trains via data transmissions in the GSM-R railway radio network. The National Implementation Plan envisages that from 1 January 2025, trains not equipped with an on-board part of the ETCS system will not be allowed on selected corridor lines.