A four billion repair? Trains between Prague and Cologne will run even more slowly
For over two years, the restrictions related to the modification of one of the busiest sections of the Czech railway lasted. Trains on the Prague-Kolín line can run between Poříčany and Veli without restrictions for several days. However, the action for 3.83 billion crowns will not bring about a shortening of the driving distance. On the contrary, in some cases the route is even longer, writes the website Zdopravy.cz.
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Trains between Prague and Cologne will run slower than before the four-billion dollar repair.
| Photo: Deník/Michal Bílek
This results from a comparison of the timetable in the 2018 proposal and the timetable that will come into effect in December this year. The proposal envisages an extension of travel times by up to three minutes compared to the state before the reconstruction.
The SC Pendolino Košičan connection, which took 34 minutes from Prague’s main railway station in 2018, will experience the biggest increase in travel time, 37 minutes since December. This time will essentially become the standard for all long-distance trains on the Prague-Kolín route. An extension of two minutes compared to the situation in 2018 means that for most connections of Ex3 lines Prague – Brno (railjet, Metropolitan), the Leo Express travel time will be extended by one minute.
On the other hand, the R19 (Prague – Česká Třebová – Brno) expressway will be shorter by one minute. He should be able to travel by passenger trains between Masaryk station and Cologne three minutes faster.
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“The resulting travel time is influenced not only by the speed of the train itself, but also by the coexistence of the train’s route with the routes of other trains on the track. While on single-track lines, especially the arrangement of crossings has a very strong influence on the total travel time, on multi-track lines (e.g. the connection Prague – Pardubice) it has the effect of catching up with slower trains by faster ones,” explained spokeswoman Nela Eberl Friebová.
According to her, a capacity model is first prepared for each timetable on such loaded routes, which is discussed with carriers and public transport customers in order to reach a consensus. “Part of the creation of a capacity model is also the search for such an arrangement of individual routes, during which there is as little mutual influence as possible between faster and lower trains,” she added.