One year after the official start of construction, the future route of the D4 motorway in Písek is already well visible in the landscape. Minister of Transport Martin Kupka, CEO of VINCI Consessions Nicolas Notebaert, the representatives of the other concessionaire (Meridiam) and the representatives of the contractor (EUROVIA CS) came to the D4 motorway to assess the current status of the first Czech PPP project.
High-speed connection between Prague and Dresden, Czech EU Presidency or clean mobility. These and other topics were discussed between Czech Transport Minister Martin Kupka and his German counterpart Volker Wissing. Germany is one of the most important international partners of the Czech Ministry of Transport and the dialogue with it is also important for a number of transportation projects.
From 1 April, the state will provide a 50% discount for pupils, students under 26 and passengers over 65 on regional and long-distance trains and buses. Children up to the age of six will still travel free of charge, while disabled people will continue to travel at a 75% discount. The government has maintained the discounts to encourage the use of public transport.
Helping Ukraine rebuild its transport infrastructure, developing high-speed lines and preparing a European secure satellite communications system. Transport Minister Martin Kupka discussed all these topics during his first working visit to Brussels where he met his European counterparts: European Commissioner for Transport Adina Vălean, head of the Directorate-General for Transport Henrik Hololei, Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton who has space activities in his portfolio and European Commission Vice-President Margrethe Vestager. He also presented to his counterparts the upcoming events in the field of transportation, which the Czech Republic will hold during the upcoming Presidency of the Council of the EU.
The Czech Railways (ČD) provides hundreds of Ukrainian citizens heading to their homeland, for example, for general mobilization, with free transport on all trains, including those with mandatory seat reservation. Ukrainian citizens only need to prove their passport. These passengers can be transported without necessary reservation also in all trains where a seat reservation is typically required. By the end of February, more than 3500 Ukrainian citizens had taken advantage of this offer. This number is growing every day.
(Update 2nd March 2022) From 27th of February, the Czech Republic with other EU memberstates restrict air traffic on their territory from any Russian carriers. Russian carriers are banned from any air traffic over the Czech Republic. The restriction start to apply from midnight of 27th to the 28th of February. At the same time, in cooperation with its Polish and Slovak partners, České dráhy (a major railway operator in the Czech Republic) dispatched first two special trains for Ukrainian citizens.