Planning of the high-speed rail line to Dresden enters a new phase18/1/2019|Press releasesWork on the design for the construction of a high-speed rail line between Prague and Dresden continues at full speed. Preparation of the feasibility study has entered the second phrase. All documents which assess the economic efficiency of the project and choose the resulting variant of the technical solution for further design work should be completed in the second half of 2019. This was said at today's meeting between the Czech transport minister Dan Ťok and his Saxon counterpart Martin Dulig in Dresden. The ministers were also discussing the railway connection between Rumburk and Seifhennersdorf and the restoration of the railway connection between Moldava and Freiberg "The new high-speed rail line to Dresden is among our priority connections. When completed, the travel time from Prague to Dresden will be reduced to one hour and a portion of trains will be diverted from the current Elbe valley route that is stretched to its limits", says the transport minister Dan Ťok. Part of the new high-speed rail line is also a 26km-long tunnel under the Krušné hory mountains. The Czech Railway Infrastructure Administration SŽDC is currently negotiating its technical parameters with Deutsche Bahn (DB NETZ). The transport ministers also talked about the construction of a new 4km-long cross-border tunnel between Rumburk and Seifhennersdorf which would extend the existing railway connection Děčín – Sebnitz – Dolní Poustevna – Rumburk and connect it to the Varnsdorf – Zittau – Hrádek nad Nisou – Liberec route. The road connection between Lobendava and Neustadt, a project which both Saxony and the Ústí nad Labem region are seeking, was another topic. The Saxon representatives said at the meeting that they would calculate the economic cost of this project which would make travelling easier. The so-called "Dresden route" is a cross-border tourist path and is closed for cars.