Line shutdown in CZ made easier: Minimum number of connections per year requirement
Regions or municipalities will be able to comment on a draft bill. To maintain operations, they will have to contract trains for five years.
The Ministry of Transport has renewed its plans for the possibility of an easy discontinuation of operation on some lines. It has inserted a new section in the proposed amendment to the railways act that would allow the rail infrastructure manager or other operators to suspend the operation of underused lines.
This follows from the draft bill. According to the documents, Sprava zeleznic may, at the owner’s request, authorize service interruption of a line without closing it down. This can happen when the line is not used by at least 300 passenger trains and 11 freight trains per year for two years.
According to the ministry, rail preservation is an appropriate solution representing an intermediate step between the operation of the railway on one hand and its complete shutdown on the other. This will save financial resources while allowing for easier restoration of the line should interest in its operation increase over time.
Edited and translated by Lucie Trávníčková.