TGV visits Prague as plans for high-speed network develop
A RECORD-breaking French TGV train visited the Czech Republic in June to promote the Czech Government’s ambitious plans to build a 350kph high-speed rail network that will connect most major cities and significantly reduce domestic and international journey times.
The train concerned, TGV set 16, set the world rail speed record of 380kph on February 26, 1981 and is now part of SNCF’s Museum fleet and carries a variety of liveries, including the original orange and white.
Unlike previous visits of TGVs to eastern Europe – TGV Reseau set 4522 went to Warsaw and several Polish cities in 1995 – this train did not operate under its own power but was hauled by locomotives from France and between its exhibition sites.
Planning for the new ‘VRT’ network (VRT = Vysokorychlostní tratě = High speed lines) has been underway for several years. Czech national rail infrastructure manager Správa železnic (SŽ = ‘Railway Administration’) has agreed an eight-year strategic partnership with French Railways (SNCF) whose TGV high-speed network led the way in Europe in the early 1980s.
A line starting south of Dresden in Germany will head south to Brno via Prague and Jihlava; from Brno two high-speed routes will head east to Ostrava (and ultimately Katowice/ Warsaw in Poland), whilst another will head south to
Vienna with the aim of offering four-hour journeys between Berlin and Vienna in the late 2030s, with a stop in Prague en route (the fastest train via Prague takes around 9 hours 50 minutes today). Other routes from Prague are also being evaluated. Construction of the entire network is planned in 13 phases between 2025 and 2050.