As the Czech economy has overcome a major part of the impact of the financial crisis, expert groups begin again thinking of future. One of the themes that transpired from time to time in discussions of Czech transport professionals and even provoked the origin of several specialized studies is high-speed railway transport. Since 1964, when the first Shinkansen trainsets commenced their operation in Japan, the high-speed rail had raised admiration and desire all over the world, but in all the countries where it was subsequently put into operation it became a highly practical means of transport offering fast and reliable linkage between cities and towns with remarkable travelling comfort.
With the average cruising speed of 150 – 200 kmph the high-speed rail can successfully compete with air transport at a distance up to 500 km, as it links directly urban centres, evading trips to distant airports and a disturbing check-in, and is, of course, significantly faster than a journey on the motorway. Also its ecological score is relatively favourable with low emissions, tolerable noise pollution and less land consumption than a motorway, and its average cost of construction is only moderately higher than for a thorough modernization of an archaic and worn conventional rail line. In Czech conditions new high-speed lines can also create a remedy against exhausted capacity of existing lines, offering more space there for regional, suburban and freight transport.
The strive for high-speed rail not only in the Czech Republic, but in more Central European countries got also an impulse by the EU transport White Paper of 2011. It proposes tripling the length of the existing high-speed rail network by 2030 while the entire European high-speed rail network should be completed by 2050, when also, where possible, all core network airports should be connected to the high-speed rail network.
The Czech country was always an intersection of European routes and should remain so also in the future. But especially in railway transport it has been more and more gone round through neighbouring countries, as the Czech historical rail network lags, in spite of an absolute progress, still behind West and some Central European countries. This is particularly due to an extremely extensive network (first place in density among European countries) consuming immense maintenance and improvement costs, an often fully engaged capacity on main lines and relatively low speed limits connected with former suboptimal projects and unsolved network bottlenecks. Protracted stagnation of the Czech rail system would have a negative impact on economic growth, investment and welfare of the population, and it would also enhance regional disparities in the country.
Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka, in view of existing situation, expressed his interest in the preparation and following construction of high-speed lines in Czechia at the meeting with Minister of Transport and the management of the Rail Infrastructure Administration (Správa železniční dopravní cesty) in June 2016. According to his opinion, a priority should be given to the construction of new high-speed lines Prague – Brno and Prague – Dresden – Berlin. The first high-speed line with a speed reaching up to 350 kmph could be set into operation in 2030. He asked the Minister of Transport to produce an analytical document, which has to assess the opportunities arising from the implementation of this system in Czechia, taking into account its cost. The document is to proceed to a discussion in the Government in the beginning of 2017.
Another impetus to the topic came from the Czech Chamber of Commerce (Hospodářská komora ČR). Its President Vladimír Dlouhý has declared that the Chamber takes seriously the attitudes of its members, who lack quality rail infrastructure and competitive transportation. He decided to invite experts from the railway industry, government, transport business and finance, to discuss how to accelerate the preparation and construction of high-speed railway lines in Czechia. The first such round table was held in the second half of June 2016, and further ones followed soon.
The project of high-speed rail network in Czechia, if materialized, will have far-reaching consequences on the entire transport network in the country. It could not serve its purpose, if not widely interconnected with the other means of passenger transport, such as conventional fast and regional trains, bus and urban transport as well as parking facilities. A special theme is an immediate connection to air transport, especially to the Václav Havel Airport Prague. High-speed rail stations will have to be well accessible not only from cities and towns, but also from the wide countryside.
The project of high-speed railway has many obstacles to overcome, especially in legislation that still gives more chance to blocking instead of pushing forward strategic projects of this kind. The new amendment of the Town and Country Planning and Building Code may be the first step for change, but not a sufficient one. Another problem is in acquiring necessary land for construction. The projects also have to be well conceived and reasoned so as to gain financial support from the European Union. The cost of the entire high-speed network in Czechia will be immense; estimates range from 500 to 800 bn CZK within a period of about 15 years.
Emanuel Šíp
Partner
Allied Progress Consultants Association