The Czech Railway Administration will be implementing ETCS on four track sections in January 2025. Together, the lines in question constitute over 600 kilometres of rail. The implementation of the European train control and signalling system won’t be done overnight, but will take place gradually throughout the first four weeks of the new year.
“The implementation of ETCS is an extremely complex project that places high demands on the coordination of all parties involved – from the Railway Administration to technology manufacturers to carriers and their staff”, Czech transport minister Martin Kupka commented. It allows for higher train speeds, but is also supposed to improve safety on the rail network.
“As with any such significant technological change, there is a phase of fine-tuning the details so that all the parts finally fit together like in a well-adjusted machine,” the minister added. “The Czech Republic is therefore among the first European countries to introduce exclusive ETCS operation on such an extensive network.”
Czech rail sections where ETCS will be implemented in January 2025:
– Česká Třebová – Olomouc – Dluhonice – Prosenice/Přerov (from 1 January 2025)
– Břeclav – Bohumín (from 8 January 2025)
– Česká Třebová – Adamov, Modřice – Břeclav (from 15 January 2025)
– Prague-Běchovice – Pardubice – Česká Třebová (from 22 January 2025)
Colossal effort
The Czech Railway Administration makes sure to highlight that ETCS implementation has required a colossal effort. During the “years of intensive work”, there have been thousands of test runs, a thousand train drivers have been trained, as well as 500 dispatchers.
“ETCS is one of the most ambitious projects in the history of Czech railways, not only in terms of technical complexity and costs. The introduction of exclusive operation is comparable to moments such as the transition from steam locomotives to electric ones,” explains Jiří Svoboda, Director General of the Railway Administration. “I would like to appreciate the efforts of thousands of people from various professions who have participated in the preparations in recent decades,” he adds.
One such preparation has been taking place since August 2024, when trains were obliged to use ETCS wherever possible. With that obligation in place, Czechia has managed to test no less than 100,000 ETCS trains in the second half of the year, according to the Railway Administration.
