On 18 September 2013 the Railway Infrastructure Administration (RIA) investment campaign Crossings in the Rumburk – Dolní Poustevna section, pilot project was festively initiated in Rumburk, Czech Republic, with the intent to modernise safety equipment on the first 13 rail-way crossings. Co-financed by the European Union, this project aims to modernise several hundred technically outdated railway crossings in the years to come. In taking this step, the Railway Infrastructure Administration is once again contributing to the increase of railway safety.
The project implementation already started during the summer holidays. It includes in total four groups of selected railway crossings:
- Šluknov – Velký Šenov in km: 10,039; 10,244 and 10,601 – the crossings will undergo reconstruction of mechanical crossing installations.
- Light installations on the crossing within the premises of Mikulášovice dolní nádraží railway station in km: 19,912; 20,035 and 20,591 – reconstruction
- Rumburk – Velký Šenov in km: 7,020; 14,661; 14,916 and 15,051 – construction of light installations on the crossings.
- Velký Šenov – Dolní Poustevna in km: 16,680; 21,118 and 23,981 – construction of light installations on the crossings.
The railway crossings mentioned above were not selected randomly, they are mostly crossings marked by a St. Andrew’s cross or crossings equipped with mechanical barriers being serviced by transport employees or already outdated safety installations from the year 1972. The construction’s objective is equipping railway crossings mentioned above with new light safety installations of Category 3 without barriers, controlled by the automatic train ride. Modernisa-tion of safety equipment on railway crossings will not only limit human factor influence but also increase equipment reliability and will contribute to more fluent rail and road operation.
Increasing safety on railway crossings remains one of the Railway Infrastructure Administra-tion’s main priorities. “Every year we invest hundreds of millions of Czech crowns into in-creasing safety on railway crossings. Just for example, this sum will amount to almost two billion Czech crowns in the two years to follow,” said Mr. Jiři Kolář, RIA Director General when describing the extent of investment operations in preparation. This amount of financing will enable the complex modernisation of approximately 400 railway crossings across the whole territory of the Czech Republic.
The Railway Infrastructure Administration manages 8,070 railway crossings; safety equipment on some of these does not correspond with the current trend of rail and road transport safety anymore. RIA strives and will always strive to increase safety on railway crossings.
Based on a public tender, the construction supplier is the company AŽD Praha, s.r.o., a lead-ing member of an association called Přejezdy Rumburk - Dolní Poustevna (Crossings Rum-burk – Dolní Poustevna). Other association members are: MONZAS spol. s r.o., Ústí nad La-bem and NTD group, a.s., Ústí nad Labem.
The tendered construction price amounts to 67,236,057 CZK (VAT excluded). The project is co-financed by the EU Cohesion Fund within the Operational Programme Transport. Releas-ing money for construction project financing abides by relevant budget regulations for the budget period 2007-2013. The beneficiary of financial means for implementing the construc-tion project is the Railway Infrastructure Administration, state organisation, which is also the entity ordering construction works within the construction project and a contracting party to the contract for work concluded with suppliers of each section of the construction project.
The maximum EU contribution will amount to 59,848,034 CZK which is equal to 85% of eligible expenses. National resources were provided by the State Fund for Transport Infrastructure (SFDI). The function of the construction technical supervisor will be assured by the Railway Infrastructure Administration, state organisation, Civil Engineering Administration Prague.
