The Czech infrastructure manager SZ has started to deploy the European Train Control System ETCS on its lines, on which ETCS will be used exclusively from January 2025. From 1st August 2024, transport companies that meet the necessary requirements will be obliged to operate with ETCS on the lines equipped with it. In the first week of August 2024, 4,480 trains were already running under ETCS, which corresponds to an increase of 961 trains compared to the first week of July 2024. From January 2025, the exclusive use of ETCS will be gradually introduced on lines with a total length of 622 km. These include the lines from Ceska Trebova to Olomouc, from Breclav to Bohumin, and from Prague-Bechovice to Ceska Trebova. To ensure the correct functioning of the ETCS, seven stress tests have been carried out since the beginning of 2024. The ETCS functioned correctly on 97.36% of the 796 journeys in total. The training of over 1,000 train drivers and 500 dispatchers is part of the changeover. When ETCS is in operation exclusively on the main lines from January 2025, 50,000 trains per month will run with ETCS. This will account for 42% of the total operating performance on the entire SZ network.
