The German Ministry of Transport presented the plans to the Bundestag in February this year. It stated at the time that after approval, nothing would prevent the signing of the contract with the Czech Republic. Construction should begin in 2032, with completion expected in 2044. After the connection is operational, the journey between Prague and Dresden should take only one hour instead of the current two and a half hours, and the journey between Prague and Berlin two and a half hours instead of four.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated several times in the past that Germany has a strategic interest in the development of transport links with the Czech Republic. The federal state of Saxony has long been fighting for the high-speed railway project between Dresden and Prague on the German side. Another joint procedure was coordinated last week in Dresden by Czech Minister of Transport Ivan Bednárik and Saxon Minister for Infrastructure and Rural Development Regina Kraushaarová. After the meeting, Bednárik described the high-speed line project as one of the most important in Central Europe.
On Thursday, Kraushaarová also spoke to members of the Bundestag as a guest. She called on them to support the high-speed railway project to Prague. She pointed out that the Czech partners also expect it. “European support is still within reach,” she said, referring to the planned financing of the track from the European Union.
The high-speed railway between Saxony and the Czech capital is to be part of the planned international corridor from Berlin via Prague to Vienna. Its key part will be the Krušnohorský tunnel, which with a length of around 30 kilometers will be the longest similar structure in Central Europe. In addition to passenger trains, it will also serve freight transport, which will create a new high-capacity connection between the Czech Republic and Germany and Western Europe. The tunnel will have two tubes. Departures will be at Heidenau in Saxony and Chabařovice in North Bohemia. Twelve kilometers of the tunnel should be on Czech territory, 18 kilometers on German territory. The aim of the project is, among other things, to avoid the narrow Elbe valley, which no longer has enough capacity.
The Czech government approved the draft contract between the Czech Republic and Germany on the construction of the Krušnohorský tunnel already last July. In February of this year, the German Ministry of Transport stated that after approval in the Bundestag and “after clarification of budgetary assumptions” it will be possible to sign an interstate agreement with the Czech Republic.
According to the estimate contained in the approved report, the project should cost at least EUR 5.6 billion (CZK 136 billion). In the worst case, the costs could rise to eight billion euros (194 billion CZK).
Transport Minister Bednárik said in March in Berlin, after a meeting with his departmental colleague Patrick Schnieder, that progress in the plans to build the Ore Mountains Tunnel also depends on the funding opportunities from the European Union. According to him, the European Commission could publish the relevant program in the summer. At the same time, in an interview with journalists, Bednárik emphasized that the construction of the Krušnohorský tunnel and the high-speed line from Prague to Dresden are not mutually exclusive. According to him, even the tunnel itself would be important for the improvement of freight and passenger rail transport.
