Prague – Ostrava in three hours by train? The return to the original driving time will take place in 2024 at the earliest
Driving time affecting extensive closure work.
For years, it was a certainty in the timetable: the commuter train journey from Prague to the Ostrava-Svinov station in less than three hours. However, extensive closures on the main corridor put an end to this rule. A slower ride awaits passengers for more than a year and a half.
Currently, the pendolino manages according to the schedule in 3 hours and 16 minutes. In reality, however, the trains run even longer: according to Babitron website for example, the SC 505 train had a delay of 24 minutes over the last two weeks. Similarly, travel times have been extended for other long-distance connections.
This year’s timetable includes the impacts of the closures in the sections Poříčany – Velim (or for a short time in August as far as Kolín), Ústí nad Orlicí – Brandýs nad Orlicí and the modernization of the Pardubice and Přerov railway junctions.
“Next year, the Pardubice station will continue to be modernized. Work will also be done on the reconstruction of the Ústí nad Orlicí – Brandýs nad Orlicí section. Upon completion, from July 2023, long-distance transport from the diversion route through the Vysočina region will return to the corridor line through Česká Třebová. Exclusion plans for 2023 also include work on the Přerov – Ostrava arm,“Added Dušan Gavenda, spokesman for the Railway Administration.
According to him, a return to the approximately original travel period between Prague and Ostrava is possible at the earliest from the end of next year with a timetable for 2024.
But the question remains, how long. Other events are planned on the route, such as the modernization of the corridor between Pardubice and Chocní (2026) or the transformation of the Česká Třebová junction (2024).
141 comments