Approved Government Programme: pensioners and students will travel on trains free of charge8/1/2018|Press releasesThe government of Andrej Babiš declared in its programme statement that senior citizens over 65, pupils and students under 26 will travel free of charge in trains. The continuation of the D49 motorway has been added to selected priority transport projects. "Seniors and students deserve free transport by train, so we added this proposal to the final version of the government's programme statement. We have overhead fares for railway employees, seniors and former employees. This has always prevented us from competing and opening the railway market," said the Transport Minister after the extraordinary meeting. According to the minister, these matters had to be resolved in the long run. "We assume that there will be something like a senior pass or a student card that would be charged and that pensioners over 65 and students under 26 could use for travelling free of charge," the minister added. According to the final wording of the programme statement, the government of Andrej Babiš shall "make a decision which, under the conditions defined, will allow the free use of railway services for pensioners over 65, pupils and students under 26 years of age". The exact shape of the free fare and the associated costs for the state will arise from how the conditions will be set. What will for example be essential is the price of the basic senior and student pass as well as other parameters that shall still be debated. The government: Until 2021 we will have opened 210 km of motorways Among the priorities of the Babiš government are, according to the final version of the programme statement, also more intense motorway construction on all main routes, i.e. on D1, D3, D4, D6, D7, D11, D35, D48, D49, D52 and D55. The government also wants to 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. And until 2021 we will have started with the construction of another 180 km of motorways," says the government in its government statement. Full text of the transport section of the government's programme statement The priority for the Ministry of Transport will be the acceleration of the preparation and construction of transport structures. We want to make major progress towards the completion of the backbone motorway network and finalise the construction of bypasses on 1st category roads. We will introduce digitalisation of the transport agenda and facilitate communication for citizens with authorities. We will let competitors to the railway sector and support the relocation of freight transport onto railways. 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 intensify the construction of motorways on all main routes, i.e. 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 1 roads must have bypasses, so that transit traffic does not pass through their centres. On category 1 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 have started with the construction of the key section of the D0 511 Prague Ring Road between Běchovice and the D1 by 2021. 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). It will be no later than by 2020 that we will close the public tender for the provision of an innovated and extended performance-based charging system for trucks over 3.5t. 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. We will create the conditions for cross-sectorial 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 aim is also to modernise vehicles and improve the travel quality. We will support the implementation of open tenders on state-ordered express train lines. Czech Railways should function as the standard non-political entity in a real competitive environment. However, the arrival of competitors 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. 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. Regarding public transportation we will implement the idea of creating a "national tariff". Passengers will just buy a ticket in the railways station and can board the first train going in their direction. All this regardless of which transport company owns the train. We will continue with the modernisation of national and regional railway lines, including electrification of important non-electrified lines where this makes sense. 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. Here we want to use European funding. 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. The government of Andrej Babiš will make a decision which, under the conditions defined, will allow the free use of railway services for pensioners over 65, pupils and students under 26 years of age. 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.