THE European Investment Bank (EIB) has agreed to lend Koruna 24bn ($US 1bn) to the Czech Ministry of Finance to assist infrastructure manager SŽ in the modernisation Trans-European Network (TEN-T) lines in the Czech Republic and facilitate the deployment of the ERTMS.
Modernising TEN-T lines will be aimed at increasing maximum speeds and capacity on key sections. The work consists of around 40 sub-projects as part of the Czech Republic’s Unified Railway Framework plan for 2023-2027.
SŽ will also improve level crossing safety, retrofit maintenance vehicles with ERTMS equipment, and strengthen cyber-security. In addition, stations will be modified to improve their accessibility for people with reduced mobility and those travelling with children.
The loan agreement is the first concrete financing result of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed In November 2022 with the Czech finance and transport ministries to establish a partnership to finance the modernisation of the rail network. Under the MoU, the EIB may also provide technical assistance to SŽ.
“This will be the largest EIB loan ever signed in the Czech Republic and the funds will greatly benefit rail transport usage in the country,” says EIB vice-president, Mr Kris Peeters. “We expect the increased quality of rail services to promote a modal shift from road to rail, which will reduce the negative impacts of the transport sector on the local environment.”
“The use of a loan from the EIB is the most economical and efficient solution to obtain funds for a strategic investment such as the digitalisation and automation of rail transport, given the current level of the general government budget deficit,” says the minister of finance, Mr Zbyněk Stanjura. “We can therefore finance long-term investments of a strategic nature through a favourable loan from the EIB with a lower interest rate, while at the same time using funds from the general government budget for other, equally important, priorities.”
