From January 2025, full operation of the European Train Control System (ETCS) will begin on 622 kilometres of track. After years of intensive work – including thousands of test runs, training hundreds of employees, and coordinating with transport companies – the infrastructure of Správa železnic (Czech Railways Administration) is ready for launch. In addition to improving safety, ETCS will also allow for higher train speeds in the future.
The introduction of ETCS is in line with the national implementation plan set by the government. The Czech Republic committed to implementing ETCS based on an earlier decision by the European Commission.
The transition to exclusive operation under the unified European train control system will be rolled out gradually over four weeks in January. In total, 622 kilometres of railway in the Czech Republic will operate with ETCS.
“The implementation of ETCS is an extremely complex project that requires high levels of coordination among all involved parties – from Správa železnic to technology manufacturers, transport companies, and their staff. As with any such comprehensive technological change, a phase of fine-tuning will follow to ensure that all components work together seamlessly,” said Minister of Transport Martin Kupka. “With this, the Czech Republic will be one of the first European countries to implement exclusive ETCS operation across such a large network.”
The European safety system will monitor approximately 50,000 trains per month. As it primarily covers key sections of the main corridors, this will affect more than 42% of traffic on the Správa železnic network. On the heavily trafficked regional section from Olomouc to Uničov, exclusive ETCS operation has already been active for almost two years.
System Tested in 100,000 Journeys
Since 1 August 2024, transport companies have been required to use vehicles equipped with the appropriate onboard units, operated by trained drivers, on ETCS-equipped tracks. During the second half of the year’s testing phase, more than 100,000 trains were monitored. The introduction of the European safety system has already significantly improved safety on the main corridors ahead of the full ETCS operation. At the same time, the system’s availability has been gradually improved. In November, connection interruptions occurred in only 1.3% of journeys.
From the new year, hundreds of vehicles will operate under the supervision of ETCS every day. Over 1,000 train drivers have been trained. In addition, 500 dispatchers – from both central control centres in Prague and Přerov, as well as station duty controllers – have been familiarised with the system.
Full ETCS Operation Launch 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)
- Praha-Běchovice – Pardubice – Česká Třebová (from 22 January 2025)
ETCS is a unified European train control system. In emergency situations, it takes control, slows the train, or stops it if a driver overlooks a stop signal. In the long term, ETCS will increase track capacity and enable higher speeds on selected sections. Thanks to the unified system, it will no longer be necessary to change locomotives at national borders, facilitating smoother international traffic.
