The Chlumec – Hradec line gets Ministry of the Environment approval
The project should help freight transport as well. Passing tracks will be built at the Praskacka and Karanice stops.
The Railway Infrastructure Administration has reached an important milestone towards the goal of an hour-long train journey between Prague and Hradec Kralove.
In the EIA process, the Ministry of the Environment gave its approval for the reconstruction of the 27-kilometer-long stretch between Chlumec nad Cidlinou and Hradec Kralove. The entire process was initiated in November 2018.
According to the published documentation, a second track will be added to the local monorail, and the maximum speed will increase to 160 km/h throughout most of the stretch. According to the Railway Infrastructure Administration (RIA), the reconstruction is expected to begin in 2025, with completion in 2028; RIA estimates the cost at CZK 7.6 billion.
“Between Hradec Kralove and Chlumec nad Cidlinou, the journey time for fast trains will be reduced from 19.5 to 14.0 minutes. The journey time for passenger trains will be reduced from 27.0 to 22.0 minutes. On a broader scale, the aim is to reduce the journey time between Hradec Kralove and Prague from the current 101 to approximately 63 minutes for express trains after all the works are completed,” the documentation reads.
The project should also help freight transport. A 740-meter long passing track for trains will be built at the Praskacka and Karanice stops. The project is part of plans to modernize the entire stretch from Velky Osek via Chlumec and Hradec Kralove to Chocen, for which a feasibility study was approved in 2015. According to the Railway Infrastructure Administration, the line will take over part of the rail freight traffic from the first corridor.
Between Chlumec nad Cidlinou and Hradec Kralove, ten level crossings will be closed (12 will be reconstructed), three station buildings will be demolished, 15 new platform canopies will be built and 1.3 kilometers of noise barriers will be built, mainly in Hradec Kralove.
The Railway Infrastructure Administration has been carrying out extensive modernisation of the Praha-Vysocany – Mstetice stretch since summer 2020 on the same railway line. The CZK 4.2 billion project also includes modernization of the Prague Vysocany railway station and the construction of a new stop Rajska zahrada.