Another attempt to speed up trains between Prague and Liberec. The option along the D10 is also coming back into play
According to the Minister of Transport, the route via Všejanská spojka is not fast enough and another solution needs to be sought.
Transport Minister Martin Kupka (ODS) wants the Railway Administration to start examining other routes for a faster rail connection between Prague and Mlada Boleslav. Current plans only include a route via the Všejanská and Bezděčín junctions.
This is the result of yesterday’s meeting with the minister, which was attended, for example, by Liberec governor Martin Půta and the general director of the Railway Administration, Jiří Svoboda. According to Kupka, this is a step that fits into his plan to look at the railway network as a whole, including the connection of all regional cities, which he talks about in an interview for Zdopravy.cz.
“The proposed speeds solved for the route through the Všejanská junction are not very high because of the curves. 130 km/h is not enough,” said Kupka. At yesterday’s meeting, he requested the Railway Administration to start looking for other route options for the Prague – Mladá Boleslav section. “It should be an exploratory study that would show how it is possible to speed up the route between the two cities,” he added. According to him, this does not mean that work on the Všejanská spojka, which is to be used mainly by freight traffic, would stop.
Searching for new faster routes
It is not supposed to be a high-speed track, at a maximum of 200 km/h. There are several variants in play: for example, a connection more closely resembling the D10 highway or, conversely, a branch from the planned high-speed line to Dresden. This would also connect Neratovice or Brandýs nad Labem – Stará Boleslav. The possibility of connecting to the upcoming high-speed terminal in Nehvizdy should also be a variant. This could also be a possible transfer in the direction from Mladá Boleslav and Liberec to trains further on in the direction of Brno.
For the Mladá Boleslav – Liberec section, a feasibility study is currently being prepared, which envisages modernization to a speed of 200 km/h. Driving times for the route from Prague to Mladá Boleslav via the Všejanská spojka are currently proposed to be around 45 minutes, which is not a significant acceleration compared to the road. Speeding up the section from Prague to Mladá Boleslav would also speed up the proposed travel times from Prague to Liberec. So far they are talking about 77 minutes, the current fastest connection is over two and a half hours.
Speeding up the connection between Prague and Liberec has been talked about since the 1990s, and there is already an eighteenth study on the topic. it’s still completely uncompetitive when compared to road travel though.
343 comments