A long overdue infrastructure upgrade project in Czechia started at the turn of the year. The critical rail junction Česká Třebová will undergo five years of work, which will hinder freight traffic greatly. But upon completion, most of the gains will be for passenger traffic.
The modernisation of the Česká Třebová railway junction is a major project, costing about 780 million euros. The work will enable trains to run at speeds of up to 80 kilometres per hour, rebuild all platforms, and is supposed to improve facilities for both passengers and freight transport.
Rail operators will first need to deal with hindrances before they can benefit from the modernisation. “The restrictions for carriers will be significant”, a METRANS spokesperson explains to RailFreight.com. “Construction work and track closures will reduce the station’s capacity for arrivals, departures, and handling, particularly for freight trains.”
No breaks
There will be little room to breathe for freight companies in the coming years. “The level of restrictions will vary depending on the construction phase, but they will persist throughout the entire station reconstruction – sometimes more, sometimes less, but always present.”
METRANS says that it will experience limitations on train arrivals at the station, where there will be no capacity for short train stops until the terminal issues an instruction to enter an available track. “This, in turn, blocks a departing train waiting for capacity in the departure area, forcing it to stop at another suitable station with the capacity for a 680-metre train. This alternative station may be tens of kilometres away from Česká Třebová”, a METRANS spokesperson explains.
Benefits for rail freight
The company predicts problems beyond the parameters of Česká Třebová. A temporarily stopped train will have to wait for capacity in the already overloaded Pardubice – Česká Třebová section, even if there is already space for it at the terminal.
In short, it is quite a burden to carry for freight operators. Surely, there is something to be gained once the modernisation is over? “From our perspective, nothing will improve for freight transport after the work is completed, except for the reconstruction of outdated infrastructure. However, this must be carried out in a way that ensures the infrastructure can operate reliably for years to come without closures due to defects”, METRANS says.
“The most noticeable improvements will be for passenger transport”, the company concludes.