The tunnel on the proposed high-speed railway between Prague and Dresden is set to be designed by the German passenger rail company Deutsche Bahn and could shorten the travel time to one hour as well as reduce heavy traffic through the Elbe valley.
The Erzgebirge-Krušné Hory base tunnel, 15.10 km long on the German side and 11.43 km on the Czech side, was one of a number of detailed recommendations outlined by Saxony’s State Transport Minister, Mr. Martin Dulig, as he unveiled the findings of the Dresden-Prague Corridor Feasibility Study.
The project envisages the construction of a new railway line between Dresden and Prague via Ústí nad Labem that would include a 26-km-long cross-border tunnel. On Czech territory, the route would run along the existing motorway. Passenger trains would use the new line, thus easing capacity of the existing line for cargo trains.
Freight trains will continue to use the existing double-track lines, increasing capacity for freight as passenger trains are moved across. This will concurrently have the effect of reducing travel times for passengers, with journey times between Dresden and Prague set to fall from 2 hrs 15 mins to just 52 mins.
The common goal is the advancement of the Saxon-Czech border area to a common, sustainable living environment, natural environment, and economic space including strengthening competitiveness as well as the sustainable improvement of people’s living condition in the common border region.
Author: red
