Czech infrastructure manager SZ has announced a tender worth 4 billion CZK for a contractor to double track and electrify the 5km Kladno – Kladno-Ostrovec section of the 29km Prague – Kladno line, the first element of a project to upgrade the route.
SZ has also revealed plans for the wider 50 billion CZK project which will include the first dedicated rail connection to Prague Havel Airport.
Work on the Kladno – Kladno-Ostrovec upgrade is scheduled to start in 2022 and be completed in 2024. The chosen contractor for the tender will also revamp Kladno station.
The entire project involves electrifying and track-doubling the existing Prague – Kladno line and building a new branch from Prague-Ruzyně to an underground station at the airport.
Work on the branch line is expected to start in 2024 and continue until 2029 with a separate tender expected for the airport station, which will serve the airport’s two terminals. Construction will also begin in 2026 to extend this line to Kladno via Jeneč to complete a loop.
SZ says it is currently preparing documentation to launch a tender worth 5 billion CZK next year to upgrade the Prague-Ruzyně – Kladno section, which will be completed in 2025 while upgrades to the Prague-Veleslavín – Prague-Ruzyně section will take place between 2022 and 2027.
The Prague-Dejvice – Prague-Veleslavín section involves the construction of a new tunnel for 10 billion CZK, which will take place between 2025 and 2029.
However, SZ is prepared to operate trains between Prague-Veleslavín, where the line will interchange with the metro, and the city centre via an alternative single-track line should this work overrun, which will constrain capacity.
The project also includes a significant expansion of Prague-Masarykovo station, the line’s terminus. Two additional tracks will be added to take the total to nine.
The contractor will also expand the station concourse to between Hybernská and Na Florenci streets.
