The Committee of the State Fund for Transport Infrastructure (SFDI) has approved the change in the total amount of resources for the Railway Administration for 2020. This represents an increase in the total amount of CZK 4.2 billion, so the original amount of CZK 39.2 billion increased to CZK 43.4 billion.
In connection with the storm Sabine, which hit most of the territory of the Czech Republic earlier this week, the Railway Administration recorded a total of 296 events, of which 192 resulted in the interruption of traffic. In the vast majority of cases, traffic was stopped due to trees which fell on the track. Good news is that only in eight cases the train hit a tree. The total damage amounted to almost nine million crowns.
On Monday 10 February 2020 at 5:03 local time the Solar Orbiter spacecraft of the European Space Agency (ESA), which the Czech Republic significantly helped to prepare, will be launched into space from Florida's Cape Canaveral. Its task will be to study the Sun in a complex way, especially the solar magnetism, solar wind and the formation of high-energy particles. The spacecraft will also bring the very first view of both solar poles. New insights obtained from the measurements of the Solar Orbiter will help to better understand the Sun and its behaviour, which will enable to predict solar activity in a better way in the future and thus protect satellite systems as well as important ground infrastructures (energy networks, aviation, etc.) from the negative effects of currents and emission of high-energy particles coming from the Sun.
While 22.4 kilometres of the D11 motorway towards Poland is under construction between Hradec Králové and Jaroměř, the remaining 40.8 kilometres between Jaroměř – Trutnov and the state border are to be completed no sooner than 2026 – 2027 according to the current plans. According to the Minister of Transport, construction of the remaining sections needs to be accelerated, as the Polish side will reach the border between 2023 and 2024 and traffic complications may arise.
The preparation of the Ore Mountains tunnel of the high-speed rail line from Prague to Dresden may be co-financed by Europe. At a meeting in Berlin today, the Federal Minister of Transport Andreas Scheuer and the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport Karel Havlíček signed a request from the German side to co-finance the preparation of the German section of the cross-border tunnel from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) funds.
Evaluation of the operational results of the Aeronautical Information Management (AIM) of the Czech Republic for 2019 confirmed the expected slight decrease in air traffic in the Czech airspace. This development was caused by capacity problems in the region of Central and Western Europe, especially Austria and Hungary, and by the need to relieve the congested airspace above Germany.