A new 17 km-long double-track railway will replace the single line between Sudoměřice u Tábora and Votice in Czechia. Coupled with the installation of modern infrastructure, this will enable the passage of long-distance, high-speed trains and more freight and regional trains.
- 18 December 2020
The project will boost the capacity and competitiveness of the line, which is part of the trans-European E55 railway linking Germany and Austria via Czechia.
The Sudoměřice-Votice railway line is on the 218 km-long rail corridor – which is part of the TEN-T network – linking Prague to the Austrian border near Horní Dvořiště.
Between Prague and Benešov, the line is double-tracked and electrified. Most of the remaining sections are electrified but single track, which leads to bottlenecks.
Shorter journey times
At present, trains can travel at a maximum speed of 100 km/h along the section, taking up to 29 minutes. The project will increase this to 160 km/h initially and 200 km/h at a later stage (once an ERTMS system has been implemented on the corridor), and cut the time to 13 minutes. The line is currently 19.9 km long, but it will be realigned and shortened by 2.89 km and the old line will be dismantled.
Two single-bore, double-track tunnels will be built, at Deboreč (660 m) and Mezno (840 m), along with 20 railway bridges, 7 road bridges, a new station at Červený Újezd, 4 railway stops and 11 culverts.
Making rail transport more attractive
The project will contribute to greater competitiveness and use of railway transport. This should encourage a shift from road to rail transport, which would bring both environmental benefits in the form of less noise and air pollution, while contributing to socio-economic development in south and central Bohemia.
The project, which is one of 10 along the Prague-České Budějovice railway corridor, will facilitate access to the cities of České Budějovice and Prague and the town of Tábor. This should make it easier for people to meet the demand for jobs in these urban centres.
A shorter section and the double track will reduce travel times and contribute to the interoperability of Czechia’s rail network. Greater capacity on the line will allow for the passage of more trains, including long-distance services such as the EuroCity, freight trains, and regional trains that link south and central Bohemia.
Signalling equipment will be automated which, along with centralised control, will improve safety and ensure greater efficiency.
Replacing obsolete facilities and modernising infrastructure will reduce operating costs. Upgrades of stations and stops – including new information and PA systems, and lighting – will improve travellers’ comfort and ensure barrier-free access for people with reduced mobility.
Expanding the TEN-T network
The work to be carried out under this project will contribute to the overall goal for 2014-2020 of increasing the modernised TEN-T network from 59 % to 65 % of the national rail network, and the proportion of the country’s network that meets interoperability requirements for operations and safety from 21 % to 38 %.
The project objectives are in line with the overall Prague-České Budějovice corridor project and the National Transport Strategy.
According to a financial analysis, not implementing the project would result in annual operating costs of EUR 3.7 million for the Sudoměřice-Votice line for the period 2017-2022. With the project, this would fall to EUR 1.5 million over the same period, a saving of around EUR 2.1 million per year.
Total investment and EU funding
Total investment for the project “Modernisation of the railway line Sudoměřice – Votice” is EUR 335 111 376, with the EU’s Cohesion Fund contributing EUR 163 674 480 through the “Transport” Operational Programme for the 2014-2020 programming period. The investment falls under the priority “Improvement of the railway infrastructure and support for sustainable transport modes”.