Czech Railways to seek billions towards rebuilding carriage stock

Czech Railways is to seek billions of crowns in funding from public finances to rebuild its aging carriage stock. The news was revealed by the head of Czech Railways Petr Žaluda on Friday, suggesting that an estimated 17 billion crowns (the equivalent of almost 1 billion US dollars) annually was needed. Transport Minister Aleš Řebíček has indicated that there may be opportunity to meet the request. Currently Czech Railways has 1,000 locomotives and 4,000 carriage cars which average 20 years in service. The Transport Minister has made clear that the need to invest in new vehicles to replace aging cars is a priority.

Author: Jan Richter