Transport Ministry starts process to open up Czech rail market

Prague, Oct 13 (CTK) - Transport Minister Vit Barta has started the process of opening up Czech railway services to competition as he asked for a notice of the plan in the Official Journal of the European Union, the ministry's spokesman Karel Hanzelka told CTK.

In line with EU rules, the notice must be published in the Official Journal of the EU at least one year before a tender for rail services is declared.

According to the plan about which Barta has informed Brussels, within one year tenders should be opened for services on rail connections Ostrava - Opava - Krnov - Olomouc, Prague - Usti nad Labem - Karlovy Vary - Cheb and Prague - Roudnice nad Labem - Usti nad Labem - Decin.

Trains of alternative rail operators could start to run on the selected routes with the beginning of the 2013/2014 train schedule, or possibly a year later.

"The process of opening up the market of passenger railway transport is among the ministry's priorities in the area of public transport and is also part of the government's policy statement," Hanzelka said.

The ministry has picked the first group of rail routes to be offered in tenders based on recommendations of a working group comprising representatives of rail operators, rail track management company SZDC, unions and regional governments.

At present, high-speed trains on Czech railway tracks are operated only by state-run company Ceske drahy which last year signed a ten-year contract with the Transport Ministry.

But previous transport minister Gustav Slamecka pushed through a clause into the contract according to which every year 15 percent of rail transport performance can be exempted from it.

Within ten years, up to 75 percent of long-distance passenger transport performance should thus be competed for. The Transport Ministry, which orders rail services from Ceske drahy, pays Kc4bn a year to the operator.

First private trains should already appear on Czech railway tracks next year, regardless of the ministry's time schedule, as company RegioJet from the Student Agency group wants to launch trains on route Prague - Ostrava by end-June.

However, RegioJet's trains will not operate as part of the public service obligation and will therefore receive no subsidies next year.

source: Prague Daily Monitor