CZECH REPUBLIC: Infrastructure manager SŽ has converted the overhead electrification on the 43 km Nedakonice – Říkovice section of the Břeclav – Přerov main line from 3 kV DC to 25 kV 50 Hz.
The work forms part of SŽ’s ambitious programme to establish a unified 25 kV 50 Hz supply over the coming decades at an estimated cost of KC79bn, replacing the current split between 3 kV DC in the north of the country and 25 kV AC in the south.
The aim is to boost the power available, reduce the number of substations and lower the operating and maintenance costs, as well as enabling compatibility with proposed future high speed lines.
The KC2·3bn Nedakonice – Říkovice project was co-funded by the EU, with the work being undertaken by EŽ Praha and AŽD Praha over two years. Hitachi Energy Switzerland supplied static frequency converters for substations at Otrokovice and Říkovice.
A one-month transition period using diesel haulage began on June 14, and the conversion was completed on July 15. The process was complicated by a fire in the signal box at Otrokovice on June 7, which reduced the line’s capacity until August 1.
The conversion will also enable the AC electrification of the Otrokovice – Zlín – Vizovice branch.
The switch to AC means that private operator Leo Express has had to cease using its DC-only Stadler Flirt Class 480 EMUs between Přerov and Staré Město u Uherského Hradiště. Instead, it has expanded its services between Praha and Bohumín with two additional train pairs, with two return services to Staré Město u Uherského Hradiště using a Class 646 Stadler GTW DMU leased from Arriva vlaky.
Conversion of the Vsetín – Střelná – Slovak border and Říkovice – Hranice na Moravě lines to AC supply is planned for completion in 2025-26. By 2035, the AC system is expected to spread from Kadaň in the west and Děčín in the north to Vraňany to the north of Praha, to be followed by the area around Ostrava in 2036.
