The Czech Republic, Germany and Austria signed a joint statement on further development of rail link Berlin – Prague – Vienna. The travel time from Prague to both capitals should not take more than two and a half hours. The fastest trains “TEE Sprinters” stopping in the largest cities can reach the capitals in two hours. The so-called Via Vindobona was one of the main topics during the conference on future of railway organized by the German Federal Ministry of Transport as a part of the European Year of Rail.
The State Navigation Administration, the Ministry of Transport, representatives of water sports and the CzechTourism agency opened this year’s navigational season on Czech rivers, lakes and reservoirs. Due to the epidemiologic situation, this season will be unusual. We can expect greater interest in spending summer holidays in the Czech Republic. A new campaign “You are never alone on water” will remind all traffic users on water to behave according to the rules and be polite.
The Ministry of Transport does not recommend postponing roadworthiness checks and encourages drivers to book a date in case of extended validity of their roadworthiness test. The European Omnibus II regulation extended the validity of regular checks, which expired or would have expire between 1 September 2020 and 31 June 2021, by 10 months. However, the current epidemiological situation allows booking a date at Periodic Technical Inspections (PTI) stations. The main priority is safety on roads.
The agreement aims to ensure and maintain navigation on Elbe according to fixed parameters from Pardubice to Hamburg. It will allow using Elbe for an eco-friendly freight transport, combining transport with water management and preserving valuable nature.
The Ministry of Transport and the project concessionaire VINCI Concessions and Meridiam reached a financial closure to invest in the final construction phase on the D4 motorway between Příbram and Písek. The preparation phase is therefore completed and construction of 32 kilometre long section of the new motorway and reconstruction of the existing 16 km long follow-up sections can begin.
The European Parliament gave its consent to the EU Space Programme and new EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA), which will reside in Prague. The aim of the EU Space Programme with a budget of EUR 14.8 billion will be mainly construction and operation of satellite systems, which will make data and services accessible for all users across various industries, in private and state sector, in science as well as for personal use.