Transport27/6/2018|Press releasesThe priority of the Ministry of Transport is the acceleration of preparation and construction of transportation projects. We want to make major progress towards the completion of the backbone motorway network and finalise the construction of bypasses on 1st category roads and improve the existing condition of the transport infrastructure. We will introduce digitalisation of the transport agenda and facilitate communication for citizens with authorities. We will support the shift from trucks to the rail. We will accelerate the preparation of high-speed rail lines and projects for the improvement of navigation conditions on waterways. We will prepare a concept change of the building law in the area of priority infrastructure projects. We will amend and upgrade the Act on the Acceleration of the Construction of Transport Infrastructure and the Act on Line Structures, so that approvals of publicly beneficial structures are simplified, obstructions in the permitting processes for transport structures are reduced and the unnecessary bureaucratic burden within the permitting processes is cut. We will adopt rules for regional transport infrastructure funding (category II and III roads) through the State Fund for Transport Infrastructure (SFDI) with the aim of providing CZK 4 billion of funds p.a. We will intensify the construction of motorways on all main routes, particularly D1, D3, D4, D6, D7, D11, D35, D48, D49, D52 and D55 and complete the full modernisation of the D1 motorway between Prague and Brno. By 2021 we will have opened 210 km of motorways, of which 110 km will be new motorways and 100 km will be the modernised D1. By 2021 we will have started with the construction of another 180 km of motorways. Towns on category I roads must have bypasses, so that transit traffic does not pass through their centres. On category I roads we will build 130 km of bypasses that will relieve towns and municipalities heavily affected by traffic. This includes, among other things, bypasses or their other sections around Slaný, Ostrava-Poruba, Hradec Králové, Otrokovice, Frýdek-Místek, Klatovy, Jaroměř, Znojmo, Břeclav, Strakonice, Opava, Karviná and many others. By 2021 we will begin building the key part of the Prague ring road D0 511 between Běchovice and D1. We will obtain planning permits for the 518 and 519 projects between Ruzyně and Březiněves and we will obtain the positive EIA statement for the 520 Březiněves – Satalice project. We will involve private investors in the construction of the transport infrastructure in the form of the public-private partnership (PPP). By implementing the pilot PPP project, we will ensure the extension and further operation of the unfinished section of the D4 motorway. Based on our experience with the project, this procedure will be used for other motorways as well (e.g. D7, D6, D3 or D35). No later than in 2010 we will have solved the electronic toll for trucks over 3.5 t. Further extension of the toll system does must not be done for financial reasons, but it must be the traffic regulation tool as well. If alternate roads start being used and suffer damage because trucks will start bypassing a paid section, we will pass legislation allowing municipalities and regional departments to regulate transit traffic to prevent even more damage to roads nearby buildings and mitigate the risk for pedestrians and other road users. We will make it easier for citizens to communicate with the state administration in the area of vehicle registration and in other registers in the transportation sector. Following the amendment to the act which has already been passed, we will make sure that every driver will be able to get his/her driving license even outside his/her permanent place of residence in any office with extended powers, without the need for completing unnecessary forms and coming with his/her own photograph. After introducing ID cards with a chip, everything can be handled from home. Instead of motorway stickers we will introduce an electronic motorway coupon that can be purchased through a mobile app or on the Internet. Safety will be among our priorities. The growing intensity of road traffic and modern and fast vehicles combined with new influences require even better prevention and awareness. In this respect we want to focus, among other things, on the youngest drivers who must not pose a fatal threat for themselves and others. We will pass legislation allowing a temporary driving licence with a limited two-year validity during which the young drivers will have to go through trainings to improve their driving skills and abilities, so they can handle crisis situations. The government will introduce significant discounts on train and bus fares for senior citizens aged over 65 and for pupils and students up to 26 years of age. We will create the conditions for cross-sectoral cooperation in freight transport, so that railway and water transport provide services for road hauliers. This means that we will take EU resources to support the development of combined transport terminals. The aim is to create a container transshipment point that will ensure that only the initial collection and final distribution takes place on the road. The longer travel on the transport route should be by rail or by water. The state-guaranteed public passenger railway transport will be ensured in a minimum scope of CZK 7.4 billion p.a., which represents almost 37 million train km per year on 28 long-distance lines. Our objective is to improve the quality of our service and travelling culture through systematic support of car fleet renewal, and use of modern information systems and technologies. We will continue with the liberalisation on the railway market. Liberalisation and the arrival of competitors in the railway passenger sector must be gradual and take into account the fact that Czech Railways are burdened with the cost of overhead fares and also provide the service of less attractive remote or regional lines subject to a public service. Czech Railways, the national provider, must be effectively controlled and act as a non-political entity. We will repair at least sixty major station buildings for greater passenger comfort. This include for example the railway station in Most, Prague-Smíchov or Křižanov. The unused space of the station buildings will be offered for use to the public administration or commercial entities. We will support the development of parking capacity around railway stations (P+R) in cooperation with municipalities. We will support the development of the cycling infrastructure (B+R) not only by railway stations but also bus stops. We want to create a uniform integrated transportation system based on the principle of a single ticket and uniform transportation rules. All this regardless of which transportation company the passenger uses. We will continue with the modernisation of national and regional railway lines, including electrification of important non-electrified lines where this makes sense. Even railways must be made safer, so we want to focus on railway crossings and the introduction of ETCS is our priority. By the end of the election period, we will fix the routes of the high-speed railway lines, as foreseen, in the zoning and planning documentation of the regions and progress with design preparation. Feasibility studies will be prepared for the most essential connections. The priority axes are Berlin – Dresden – Ústí nad Labem – Prague, Prague – Brno – Břeclav and Brno – Přerov – Ostrava. For the railway connection Prague-Kladno with a turning to the Václav Havel airport we will get the planning decision and progress significantly with the property preparation, and for some parts we will obtain the building permit. By approving the Water Transport Concept, finalising the EIA processes and starting the planning proceedings for the implementation of navigation levels Děčín and Přelouč, we will have come closer to the creation of sufficient navigation conditions on the Elbe-Vltava waterway. The government will decide on the next steps after the completion of the feasibility study for the Danube-Odra-Elbe waterway project, now in progress.