Policy Statement of the Government: Transport

One of the State’s key tasks is to complete the missing transport infrastructure and ensure its operation. Safe and functional transport connections are one of the basic conditions for the further development of our country and its regions. We will also focus on further improving public transport, which must be affordable, easily accessible and offer a convenient alternative to individual means of transport.

Infrastructure

Motorways and 1st class roads

• We will focus primarily on continued construction of the Prague D0 ring road, the construction of other sections of the D35 motorway and the completion of the D1 motorway between Říkovice and Přerov. By 2025, we will expand the motorway network by up to 200 kilometres.
• By the end of 2025, we commission the České Budějovice bypass and other sections of the D3; the D4, D6, D49 and D55 motorways will be extended. We will complete the D48 motorway, including the Frýdek-Místek bypass; we will put into operation three sections of the D55 motorway with a total length of 21.4 km and finalise other parts of the Great Ring Road in Brno on I/42. The border section of the D11 will be finished. Preparations for the extension of the D52 motorway, the D43 motorway and the Central Bohemian part of the D3 motorway will also progress. We will work to increase the capacity of selected 1st class roads where the traffic intensity will not require a motorway in the future; we will build bypasses of municipalities, towns and cities suffering from transit traffic.
• We will significantly increase the number and capacity of rest areas and parking areas on motorways and 1st class roads for mandatory truck driver breaks in the coming years so that the number of such spots exceeds 4.5 thousand.
• We will evaluate the experience with public-private partnership on the D4 motorway and consider the use of this tool in other transport infrastructure projects.

Rail

• The construction of high-speed railway lines is a government priority. We will enshrine the construction high-speed line in law.
• In addition to the main branches of the high-speed lines, a modern fast connection of regional towns will also be an important part of the overall railway infrastructure development concept.  The will be the Prague – Pilsen – Germany, Prague – Liberec, Prague – Benešov – České Budějovice – Austria, Brno – Slovakia and Brno – Přerov connections, and a branch line from the Dresden high-speed line to Most.
• We will significantly progress with the preparation of the key construction of the first parts of the high-speed lines from Prague to Dresden, from Prague to Brno, from Brno to Ostrava and from Brno to Vienna.
• Our goal is to modernise 290 kilometres of railway lines, complete the reconstruction of railway junctions in Pilsen and Pardubice and launch the reconstruction of the Česká Třebová junction and the removal of bottlenecks by increasing the capacity of the relevant lines and stations in the Prague railway junction. Work on railway corridors III and IV and on the preparation of the Brno railway junction will also progress significantly.
• We will accelerate the preparation and implementation of the construction of a railway connection from the Prague city centre to Vaclav Havel Airport Prague.
• Increased capacity of the railway infrastructure will allow a gradual shift of part of freight transport from congested roads to railways.
• We will modernise the secondary and regional railway lines in logical sections to the maximum possible speed and throughput and in close cooperation with local governments. Unused train stations will be repaired if they can be used for State services or offered to regions, cities, towns and municipalities for further use. We will support programmes for the construction of multimodal transhipment points, the renewal of operations and the electrification of railway sidings with connections to industrial zones (including the modernisation of classification yards and support for the system of individual consignment transport).
• We will simplify and speed up the electrification of Czech railways, including the unification of the supply system, and we will also prepare legislative support.

Waterways

• We will continue to develop inland waterway transport and the recreational use of waterways.
• We will start negotiations with Germany on the exchange of the Czech port area in Hamburg.
• We will stop work on the Danube-Oder-Elbe water corridor project. We will lift the current territorial protection in places where planning of future water works will not be practical. On the contrary, we will support the development of environmentally friendly water transport on existing courses.

Aviation

• We will actively support the revitalisation of passenger and freight air transport. The construction of a parallel runway at Vaclav Havel Airport Prague will play a key role for future development.
• We will achieve safe integration of drone operation in Czech airspace.

Public transport

• Using new public service contracts and financial support, we will enable faster renewal of railway vehicles to make traveling on Czech railways safer and more comfortable.
• We will gradually expand the single ticket instrument (OneTicket) in cooperation with regions and cities by individual integrated transport systems. At the same time, we will review the fare discounts provided by the State by 30 June 2022.
• In accordance with the European 4th Railway Package, we will open up the railway market as widely as possible. After 2023, the State will conclude public service contracts on the railway mainly through tender procedures.
• We will coordinate with the regions the further development of regional lines and the preparation of tender procedures for fast train and passenger train connections on regional lines.
• We will focus on the systematic increase in the number of passengers in public transport.

Security

• We will pursue the implementation of the BESIP Strategy 2021–2030 and carry through the updating of the sanction system in the amendment to the Road Traffic Act. Our aim is to punish the most dangerous infractions more effectively, increase road safety and reduce penalties for trivial infractions.
• We will support the further development of intelligent transport systems, including co-operative systems, to increase the safety and fluidity of traffic, improve the awareness of road users and achieve more optimal use of the infrastructure capacity and of vehicles with higher degrees of automation.
• On new sections of motorways equipped with modern telematics, it will be possible to increase the permitted speed up to 150 km/h with good visibility and appropriate traffic.
• By 2025, the railway administration will modernise more than 500 level crossings of railways with roads, focusing on the most dangerous crossings.
• We will focus on greater safety on railways; railway traffic supervision will be improved and the schedule for equipping 4 800 kilometres of lines with ETCS and other safety systems will be updated.
• We will intensify the removal of illegal billboards on motorways.

Legislation, administration and digitisation of transport

• By the end of 2023, we will ensure the transformation of the Road and Motorway Directorate of the Czech Republic into a State enterprise called Motorways and Roads Administration, which will be more efficient in the preparation, implementation and maintenance of buildings.
• At the same time, we will introduce evaluation of plans, fulfilled objectives and efficiency in preparation and implementation of constructions and improvement of their performance for other investment organisations of the Ministry of Transport (Railway Administration, Directorate of the Czech Waterways).
• We will compare the results of investment organisations with comparable organisations in Western Europe.
• By 2025, we will complete the digitisation of the transport sector so that citizens will be able to use online services related to transport agendas, such as the issue and exchange of driving licences or the registration of changes in the register of road vehicles.
• We will make timetables available in a way that allows remote access of the public; they will be available as open and machine-readable data files.
• We will use the participation of the Czech Republic in the EU Space Programme and Prague’s positions as the seat of the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) for greater involvement of Czech companies and start-ups.
• We will support the digitisation and automation of the transport sector, making maximum use of new technologies. By implementing smart transport systems, we will increase the efficiency and safety of transport. We will also support transport research and innovation.

Transport strategy

• In response to the completion of the Operational Programme Transport II, we will evaluate the Transport Sector Strategies and prepare their update by 30 June 2023, which will include a binding medium- and long-term plan of transport infrastructure construction priorities.
• In cooperation with the regions, we will review the extension of tolls to other sections of roads to make it unfavourable for freight transport to bypass the tolled sections.
• When awarding and subsequently preparing transport construction projects, we will look not only for the lowest price and life cycle costs, but also for quality and architectural and urban value. We will ensure transparent, fair and open selection procedures to increase the number of suppliers for the Ministry of Transport.
• We will streamline and expand the dynamic weighing system for trucks while maintaining enforceability for foreign carriers. Conditions will be created for the relevant municipalities to deal with such infractions.
• We will ensure a level playing field for Czech and foreign carriers.
• We will support the construction of rail connections also for light rail vehicles in urban conurbations. We will include in the relevant strategic documents the necessary development of urban public transport with emphasis on the related necessary infrastructure: Park&Ride and Bike&Ride parking spaces at railway stations, a significant increase in the number of charging and filling stations using European funds.
• We will provide at least CZK 6 billion per year from the State budget to finance class II and III roads from 2023.
• We will plan and coordinate maintenance and modernisation of roads and railways so that there is always a meaningful detour route, including routes for alternative bus transport. The tool for better coordination of constructions will be a modern application using a digital technical map.
• Our view of transport as a whole and the solution of modern transport systems will always include bicycle transport and other emission-free forms of transport. Investments in new transport infrastructure and reconstruction of the existing infrastructure will take into account the needs of pedestrians and cyclists. The construction of European and supra-regional cycling path deserves our attention and support.