Eurovia secures $132m contract to upgrade south Prague railway line

Construction firm Eurovia has secured a contract worth €120m ($132m) to upgrade a section of the south Prague railway line in the Czech Republic.

The contract was signed by Eurovia as part of its joint venture with Strabag Rail and Elektrizace železnic Praha.

The 8.7km line between the Smíchov station in Prague and the city of Černošice falls under the Czech Republic’s third railway transit corridor.

Under the contract, the company will carry out refurbishment works, including track sub-structure, rebuilding overhead contact lines, bridges and railbeds.

Additional modernisation works covered under the contract are telecommunication and safety equipment upgrades, as well as widening certain sections of the line.

The company will also carry out infrastructure and platform restoration at Prague stations, including Smíchov, Radotín and Velká Chuchle.

The project, which is intended to increase safety and enhance traffic flow, will see the speed of conventional trains increase to between 100km/h and 130km/h while tilting trains will increase to between 120km/h and 140km/h.

Eurovia will implement ‘alternating traffic interruptions’ to minimise disruption. The project is expected to be completed by June 2022.

Eurovia generated revenue of more than €500 million in the Czech Republic last year.

In June, the company won a contract with the Czech railway infrastructure administration to renovate a 6km railway section between Lysá nad Labem and Čelákovice northeast of Prague.

The €60m ($66.5m) contract was signed with Eurovia as part of a joint venture with Elektrizace železnic Praha.