Information published on 6 December 2016 in the UIC electronic newsletter "UIC eNews" Nr 527.

Czech Republic: Travelling on the Ústí nad Orlicí - Letohrad line is now faster and more comfortable

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SZDC (Správa železniční dopravní cesty), the Czech national railway infrastructure manager, has improved the parameters of the Ústí nad Orlicí – Lichkov rail line on the section between Ústí nad Orlicí and Letohrad railway stations. The main objective of the project was to update it in accordance with European parameters and standards.

Changes have been made to the railway superstructure, substructure and platforms at Dolní Dobrouč, Hnátnice and Dolní Libchavy railway stations. Lanšperk railway station has undergone visible modifications; repair works of two platforms as well as an ablation of unused tracks near the station building were carried out. Builders have erected a new external platform in the newly created space and simplified the configuration of the track. A new overhead contact line has been established here and lighting replaced. The station interlocking equipment and local cabling have been restored.

"The biggest benefit of the construction work on the 024 line has increased travelling comfort and safety. Implementation of the project has enabled faster line speeds on the section from Ústí nad Orlicí to Letohrad, which reflects positively on shortening journey times”, stated Mr Pavel Surý, Director General of SZDC.

The project was conducted in accordance with the global objective of Priority Axis 1 which is an improvement of railway transport on the Trans-European Network TEN-T. The construction implementation has increased transport availability. Other positive impacts include reducing operating costs and ensuring railway capacity and quality of railway traffic for a prospective range of transport. Another positive impact of the project is the increased safety and continuity of railway transport.

The estimated total cost of the construction for Line 024 Ústí nad Orlicí – Lichkov, Section Ústí nad Orlicí – Letohrad is around CZK 550,311,173 (VAT excluded) – around 20 million euros. The project was approved for co-financing by the European Union within the Operational Programme Transport. The planned amount of the contribution from the Cohesion Fund represents up to CZK 384,840,906 – around 14 million euros. National financing was secured by the State Fund for Transport Infrastructure. The contractor was the company Chládek a Tintěra, Pardubice a.s. a Porr a.s.

(Source: SZDC)