EU Approves 4 billion CZK Plan to Modernize Czech Rail Transport

Entering the 2021 EU Year of Railway, the European Commission has approved today an investment of over €160 million (more than 4 billion CZK) from the Cohesion Fund to replace the single line between Sudoměřice u Tábora and Votice with a new 17 km-long double-track railway.

This will enable the passage of long-distance, high-speed trains, and more freight and regional trains. Cohesion and Reforms Commissioner Elisa Ferreira said: “This project will modernize rail transport in the Czech Republic making its railway network more competitive and attractive compared to other more polluting and dangerous transport modes.”

“This will greatly benefit people and businesses not only in the Czech Republic but also in the rest of Central Europe,” she adds.

The project will contribute to the greater capacity and competitiveness of railway transport.

This should encourage a shift from road to rail transport, which will bring environmental benefits, in the form of less noise and air pollution, while contributing to socio-economic development in the south and central Bohemia.

The new line on Prague-České Budějovice railway corridor will facilitate access to the cities of České Budějovice and Prague and the town of Tábor, making it easier for people to meet the demand for jobs in these urban centres.

This project is part of the trans-European railway linking Germany and Austria via the Czech Republic and it is expected to start being operational in the first quarter of 2023.