From Prague to Brno in an hour. The expressways are expected to start operating in eight years, studies say
Feasibility studies have shown that the high-speed line from Prague to Brno and Ostrava should have greater economic benefits than the planned costs of their construction. Specifically, according to the Ministry of Transport, these would be the Prague-Brno-Břeclav and Brno-Přerov-Ostrava express lines. According to current estimates, investments in both planned expressways will cost more than 400 billion crowns.
The feasibility study has now been approved by the Central Commission of the Ministry of Transport. Together with the previously adopted feasibility study on the line from Prague to Dresden, the Railway Administration thus has an economic justification for the basic framework of the planned high-speed line network, the ministry said.
Both studies include, for example, forecasts of the future number of passengers, the design of long-distance train lines, variants of the technical solution, including connections to the conventional network, as well as economic analysis.
The studies focused on two independently prepared expressways. For the high-speed line from Prague to Brno, the state has chosen a variant that connects the Czech and Moravian metropolises through the northern corridor around Kutná Hora and Světlá nad Sázavou. The project envisages a new Pávov terminal near Jihlava and also the possibility of connecting to conventional rail. The journey between Prague and Brno should take about 2.5 hours instead of the current one.
In Brno, the selected variant envisages a Vienna terminal with a subsequent connection to the Brno railway junction in the new Greek position. In the direction from Brno to the south, a new line should also be created, which will lead further west. The maximum operating speed on the line should be 320 km / h, the minimum 200 km / h. The entire track, including separate branches from Prague’s Hostivař via Benešov to Bystřice, should cost around 324 billion crowns.
The second line tested was the expressway between Brno, Přerov and Ostrava. The study chose the design of a new line in the section Brodek u Přerova-Prosenice -Ostrava Svinov as more advantageous, together with bilateral exits to Hranice na Moravě.
This variant took precedence over the construction of separate terminals in Odry and Trnávky. According to current estimates, the line between Přerov and Ostrava should cost 82.7 billion crowns and should be connected to the modernized Brno-Přerov section. The maximum speed on the track should again be 320 km / h.
Trains should start running on the first part of the high-speed lines in 2030. The Railway Administration expects to start construction in 2025, in the section Prague-Běchovice – Poříčany. The construction of the section between Prosenice and Ostrava-Svinov should also begin in the same year.