Transport Yearbook 2022

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Transport sector development in 2023

INFRASTRUCTURE

Infrastructure expenditures

In 2023, total investment expenditure in transport infrastructure increased again and reached more than CZK 105 billion. This is an increase of almost 14 % compared to 2022, which represents a year-on-year increase in investment funds of more than CZK 13 billion. In 2023, the value of investment expenditure in transport infrastructure was the highest in the last 14 years. Approximately CZK 50 billion was released from the State Fund for Transport Infrastructure budget for road infrastructure and approximately CZK 40 billion on railway infrastructure.

In 2023, there was a year-on-year increase in investment funds invested in roads, which amounted to almost 32 %. These investments include not only funds from the State Fund for Transport Infrastructure, but also investments of individual regions in infrastructure and maintenance of lower-class roads. The investment costs in the infrastructure were the highest in the last 12 years. Investment expenditure in class II and III roads, i.e. roads owned by regions, increased in 2023 compared to 2022 and, including repairs and maintenance, amounted to CZK 24 billion. The percentage share of expenditure in class II and III roads in total road investment costs was 20 % in 2023.

In 2023, a slight decrease in investment funds in railway transport infrastructure was observed approximately 5.6 %, year-on-year. The year 2022 was a record year in the history of monitoring investment funds invested in railway infrastructure. Historically, investment costs in railway infrastructure decreased from 2009 to 2014. A significant increase occurred in 2015.

As for other investment expenditure in 2023, a decrease of more than 16 % compared to 2022 was recorded for water infrastructure. In 2020, the funds invested in the construction of water infrastructure were the highest, and since this year they have been declining again.

Total transport infrastructure repair and maintenance expenditure in 2023 increased by more than 24 % compared to 2022. After years of stagnation until 2013 and subsequent three-year growth until 2016, expenditure declined in 2017 and then increased again quite significantly in 2018 and 2021. Prior to that, until 2013, there had been no significant changes for eight years, and these expenditures did not copy the steep decline in investment expenditure during the crisis period.

An important achievement in the field of transport infrastructure investments in 2023 was the approval of the amendment to the Line Act by the Chamber of Deputies. The aim of the amendment is to speed up the implementation of constructions. For strategically important energy and transport investments, the law sets binding deadlines of four years for the completion of all administrative proceedings. The proposed changes in legislation should remove bureaucracy and speed up permitting processes for strategic investments.

Road infrastructure

In 2023, a total of 16 constructions were started on the road network in the length of 70.2 km. In 2024, twenty- to thirty-kilometer-long sections of motorways will be put into operation, such as the continuation of the D3 motorway in South Bohemia, the D4 motorway will be completed and in Moravia sections of the D48 motorway near Bělotín and Frýdek-Místek or the D55 in the section from Babice to Bzenec. Five constructions of the Great city ring road in Brno, the bypass of Jaroměř and Mošnov will also be put into operation. In 2023, the south-eastern bypass of Havlíčkův Brod and the Bludov bypass were opened. Major projects funded from national funds in 2023 include, for example, D55 Napajedla – Babice, D35 Hořice – Sadová, I/35 Lešná – Palačov and D10 Kosmonosy interchange. The following projects were co-financed from OPD in 2023: D35 Janov – Opatovec, D6 Hořesedly, D6 Hořovičky, bypass, D55 Olomouc – Kokory, I/34 Lišov – Vranín and the long-awaited construction of D3 0312/II Nažidla – Dolní Dvořiště, state border. Of the projects financed from national funds for which implementation started in 2023, these are D1, Šmejkalka bridge and D1 Brno center – Brno south.

The construction of new resting places for road haulage crews on the road and motorway network continues in line with the Concept of implementing rest periods on the motorway network from 2018. A total of 90 lorry parking spaces were added in 2023, starting the construction of additional new rest areas or expanding existing ones. The increase in parking capacity represents a major step towards improving conditions for drivers.

Selected constructions that were put into operation in 2023: I/34 Stráž nad Nežárkou – Lásenice, I/27 Šlovice – Přeštice, I/38 Havlíčkův Brod, SE bypass 4, I/36 Časy – Holice 3, I/11 Doudleby nad Orlicí, bypass, I/43 Hradec nad Svitavou – Lačnov, I/68 Třanovice – Nebory, I/67 Karviná, I/53 Znojmo – Lechovice, D7 Louny, bypass capacity increase 6, D48 Frýdek-Místek, bypass phase II 4, D8 off-street intersection Zdiby, Stage II D3 0309/II Chotýčany, I/9 Jestřebí, roundabout 0, I/13 Rozkoš, ecoduct, I/43 OK Sebranice 0.33, I/44 Bludov, I/11 Opava, northern bypass road – western part 3.

Constructions started in 2023: Night work on the extension of the bridge on the D1 motorway (construction of D1 Brno centre – Brno south), I/35 Lešná – Palačov, I/34 Lišov – Vranín, D6 Hořesedly, D6 Hořovičky, bypass, D1 Brno centre – Brno south, D3, D10 Kosmonosy interchange, Šmejkalka bridge, D7 Kněževes interchange, additional lanes, D35 Hořice – Sadová, D35 Vysoké Mýto – Džbánov, D35 Janov – Opatovec 11, I/42 Brno, D55 Napajedla – Babice, bridge.

Other constructions implemented in 2023: I/27 Klatovy, relocation of the 1st construction, I/27 Žiželice, bypass and bridging, I/36 Pardubice Trnová – Fáblovka – Dubina, I/33 Jaroměř, bypass, I/16 Nová Paka, I/58 Mošnov, bypass, D3 Třebonín – Kaplice nádraží, D6 Krupá, D7 Chlumčany, capacity increase, D48 grade-separated junction Bělotín – Rybí, I/42 Brno, D3 Hodějovice – Třebonín, D3 Úsilné – Hodějovice, D1 Říkovice – Přerov, D55 Babice – Staré Město, D55 Staré Město – Moravský Písek, D55 Moravský Písek – Bzenec, 4, D49 4901 Hulín – Fryšták, I/9 Nový Bor – Svor, capacity increase, I/42 Brno, city ring road Žabovřeská, I/11 Postřelmov – Chromeč, I/69 Vsetín, ramp Mostecká.

Constructions implemented in 2023 as part of PPP project D4: Milín – Lety 11, D4 intersection II/118 – Milín, D4 Čimelice – Mirotice, D4 Lety – Čimelice, D4 Mirotice, extension.

Also in 2023, the Road and Motorway Directorate of the Czech Republic intensively continued to prepare motorway constructions and relocations of class I roads. During 2023, work was carried out on 12 documents for the purpose of obtaining a zoning decision, 33 documents for the purpose of obtaining a joint permit and 28 documents for the purpose of obtaining a building permit. In addition, 21 zoning decisions were obtained for the location of buildings, 12 buildings were issued joint decisions and 18 building permits for major road and motorway constructions.

Railway infrastructure

Repairs and maintenance of national and regional railways are provided by the Railway Infrastructure Administration, state organization. It concerns 9349 km of railway lines, 6728 bridges, 169 tunnels, 7580 crossings, 7987 buildings and building structures, electrical engineering, power engineering and telecommunication and signaling technology. Furthermore, this organization provides repairs and maintenance of real estate in railway stations, including cleaning and security in these buildings. In 2023, the provision of these activities was paid from the budget of the State Fund for Transport Infrastructure, which provides the Railway Infrastructure Administration with non-investment funds, and from revenues realized from rent from land, buildings and non-residential premises or from revenues from services and external services related to this segment. The total costs excluding depreciation incurred to ensure operability, including the relevant share of centrally managed costs, amounted to CZK 20.797 billion in 2023. The number of carriers that have a contract with Railway Infrastructure Administration for the operation of rail transport on national and regional railways owned by the state decreased to 118 in 2023. Passenger transport performance on the Railway Infrastructure Administration network increased in 2023. Compared to 2022, the number of train-km increased by 1.8 % and gross tonne kilometers by 1.0 %. In freight transport, transport performance in train kilometres decreased by 6.0 % and gross tonne kilometres on the Railway Infrastructure Administration network by 9.1 % compared to 2022. Total costs excluding depreciation to ensure the operation of the transport routes include the performance of traffic management staff in district directorates and dispatch points. Including the relevant share of centrally managed costs of the Deputy Director General for Operations Management Section, they amounted to CZK 6.99 billion CZK in 2023.

In the area of modernization and development of the railway infrastructure, the activities of Railway Infrastructure Administration have long been focused primarily on the preparation and implementation of investment projects with an emphasis on the following priorities:

– preparation of the construction of high-speed lines,

– modernization of railway transit corridors,

– modernization of railway junctions,

– upgrading other lines included in the European rail system,

– ensuring the interoperability of selected lines,

– investments in rail infrastructure for the development of suburban transport and integrated transport systems.

– investment in real estate of passenger stations.

The financing of the investment construction was secured mainly from public sources. In terms of volume, the most important source of funds in 2023 for investment construction was national resources from the Railway Infrastructure Administration budget, including resources from a new EIB loan, in the amount of CZK 22.8 billion. The second most important source was the European subsidy title RRF, from which almost CZK 4.5 billion was drawn. Furthermore, subsidies from the CEF2 (CZK 3.8 billion) and OPD3 (CZK 2.2 billion) infrastructure funds contributed significantly to the financing of the construction and modernization of the railway infrastructure. The drawdown of the separately monitored original EIB loan for blended support actions under the CEF Blending Call of CZK 3.0 billion also continued. At the same time, European funds from the expiring EU programming period 2014 - 2020 were drawn from OPD2 and CEF1 resources in the total amount of CZK 2.6 billion. In the area of railway infrastructure, Railway Infrastructure Administration is the main entity responsible for the use of EU funds in the Czech Republic as the final beneficiary and at the same time as an investor. As part of the preparation and implementation of investment projects on the railway infrastructure, the total volume of investment subsidies received exceeded almost CZK 40 billion in 2023. Compared to 2022, the drawing of subsidy funds for investments decreased by CZK 3.6 billion.

The following important projects were financed from national funds on the railway infrastructure, the implementation of which started in 2023: cyber security of Railway Infrastructure Administration, reconstruction of the bridge on km 21.510 of the line Tábor – Písek, rehabilitation of an unstable embankment at the railway station Karlovy Vary (km 185.850 – 186.000), reconstruction of the line including anti-noise measures in the section Litoměřice město – Velké Žernoseky, replacement of crossing P6532 on km 204.392 of the line Přerov – Olomouc, reconstruction of the passenger building at the railway station Františkovy Lázně, increasing the stability of rock massifs on the lines Chotětov – Mladá Boleslav and Mladá Boleslav and the premises of the Fire Rescue Service Cheb. Construction projects that were co-financed from OPD and the implementation of which started in 2023 are: reconstruction of the railway section Přibyslav – Pohled, reconstruction of the railway station Brno – Královo Pole, ETCS Brno Horní Heršpice – Zastávka u Brna, reconstruction of the railway station Vlkov u Tišnova and reconstruction of the line section Vlkov u Tišnova – Křižanov. Overview of major projects co-financed by the CEF, the implementation of which started in 2023 – Railway Infrastructure Administration: reconstruction of the railway station Prague-Smíchov, double-tracking of the line Branický most – Prague-Krč – Spořilov, modernization of the line Prague-Bubny – Prague-Výstaviště, optimization of the line Karlštejn – Beroun, Lipník nad Bečvou – Drahotuše and optimization of the line section Havířov – stop Havířov střed.

Inland waterway transport infrastructure

The organizational unit of the state responsible for water transport is the Directorate of Waterways of the Czech Republic, which was established by the Ministry of Transport and Communications of the Czech Republic on 1 April 1998 pursuant to § 51 para. 1 of Act No. 219/2000 Coll., on the Property of the Czech Republic and its Representation in Legal Relations, as amended. The main activity of this organization is to ensure the development of the infrastructure of waterways of the Czech Republic from the funds of the State Fund for Transport Infrastructure. It is an investor organization of the transport department.

In 2023, funds from the State Fund for Transport Infrastructure in the total amount of approx. CZK 521 million were spent on the development, modernization and maintenance of transport-important waterways through the subordinate organization of the Ministry of Transport, the Directorate of Waterways of the Czech Republic. CZK, of which investment expenditures amounted to approx. CZK 496 mil. and non-investment expenditures of approx. CZK 25 million. In 2023, the drawing of these funds from the State Fund for Transport Infrastructure was mainly contributed to by the projects "Extension of navigability of VC Otrokovice – Rohatec – PK Rohatec" in the amount of CZK 75.34 million. CZK, "Waiting berth for small vessels on the Vltava River" in the amount of approx. CZK 47.97 mil., where the Vrané nad Vltavou site was completed in July 2023 (1 out of 8 sites completed) and the Roztoky site was launched at the end of the year). In addition, the ongoing project "Service Centre Roudnice nad Labem" in the amount of approx. CZK 26.68 mil., where completion is expected in 2024. Furthermore, it was the project "Poděbrady Dock" in the amount of approx. CZK 15:85 mil. and "Recreational Port Veselí nad Moravou" in the amount of CZK 7.61 million, where it was the construction of an operational building. Within the global item Investment projects with budget costs of up to CZK 30 million, was drawn in 2023 in the form of smaller projects, a total amount of CZK 185.29 million. The largest number of projects were represented by docks for small vessels and OLD piers, such as "Dock of Čelákovice" with drawing of approx. CZK 19:89 million, " Dock of Davle" with drawing of approx. CZK 17.99 million, "Dock of Brno" with drawing of approx. CZK 17.76 million, "Dock of Roudnice" with drawing of approx. CZK 8.68 million, "Dock of Štětí" with drawing of approx. CZK 8.45 million, "Brandýs nad Labem wharf" with a drawing of approx. CZK 6.00 mil. and "Modernization of the OLD Ústí nad Labem-Vaňov parking lot" with the drawing of approx. CZK 4.95 million. Other projects include the following projects: "Strážnice Harbour – Increasing the Port Capacity" with the drawing of approx. CZK 39.22 million, "Modernization of the protective berths of service vessels in Prague and Nymburk" with the drawdown of approx. CZK 25.21 million, "Modernization of the protective berths in Lovosice and Hřensko" with the drawing of approx. CZK 15.92 million, "Renovation and modernization of the berths in the Peutehafen port" with the drawing of approx. CZK 3.68 million, "Inspection vessel of the Directorate of the Czech Republic" with the drawing of approx. CZK 8.20 million. or "ŘVC – Renovation and construction in the Hamburg area (Peutehafen port)" with a drawing of approx. CZK 4.46 million.

Significant financial resources in the amount of approximately CZK 52.10 million. CZK were also spent on intensive preparation of other investment projects for the comprehensive development of the entire network of waterways important for transport. The main obstacle to the ongoing preparation of the Děčín weir is the link to the determination of the compensatory measures identified in the SEA assessment of the Water Transport Concept and the need to change the zoning plan for the Přelouč II Weir project. In addition, in the preparation of other investment projects, for example, the EIA assessment of the Bělov lock chamber and the Kroměříž recreational port was completed, a building permit was obtained for the intention to extend the navigability of the VC Otrokovice – Rohatec – PK Rohatec, a combined permit for berths for small vessels in Hořín, Roztoky and Dolánky and a protective berth for service vessels in Brné.

Air transport infrastructure

As every year, the largest investments in the development and modernization of airport infrastructure were made at the largest airport in the Czech Republic, Václav Havel Airport Prague. In 2023, the main investments included the reconstruction of the TWY Z and TWY H taxiways (CZK 139 million) and the construction of a cable duct connecting the north and south areas (CZK 98 million). In 2023, sixty-nine carriers flew direct flights from Václav Havel Airport Prague to 167 destinations.

Significant investments were also made at other regional airports in 2023. Karlovy Vary Airport has invested in an explosive’s detector and detection frames for security checks, for which it received a subsidy from the State Fund for Transport Infrastructure. Other investments included the purchase of boarding stairs for passengers, a used fire brigade vehicle and the repair of a public check-in hall damaged by fire. Pardubice Airport has purchased an electric trolley tractor and an LPH tanker. Ostrava-Mošnov Airport has invested in the construction of a cargo terminal, which was completed in September 2023 and will contribute to the expansion of cargo capacity. The construction was completed in September 2023. This cargo terminal will ensure capacity expansion and contribute to the acquisition of new customers. In addition, industrial lighting was replaced with LED, new machinery and equipment were purchased, the most important of which include the purchase of a diesel generator to ensure the operation of the check-in hall, an electric baggage tractor, the acquisition of 2 thermal cameras for the fire and rescue service and equipment to ensure the protection of civil aviation from unlawful acts. In 2023, the operator of Brno-Tuřany Airport invested approximately CZK 30 million in repairs of airport movement areas and operational equipment and put into operation a new pair of airport stairs for passenger boarding and disembarking.

Combined transport

The specialized infrastructure for combined transport includes transshipment points that are currently fully owned by private entities in the Czech Republic. These are combined transport operators, carriers or transshipment operators. The development of this infrastructure is supported by the state, especially through the Operational Program Transport. This program is focused on the construction of new transshipment points in locations where they will not compete with existing transshipment points or will complement them appropriately in order to increase the necessary capacity in the region, or on increasing the capacity and development of existing transshipment points. Individual projects are supported up to a maximum of 49% of eligible costs from public sources, the rest of the funds come from the private capital of the beneficiary.

In the previous programming period, 13 projects were approved under the Operational Program Transport with support amounting to CZK 823.6 million (CZK 31.7 million €), which concerned the construction or modernization of 7 combined transport transshipment points and their equipment with new handling equipment. Of these, three completely new transshipment points were put into operation in northern, central and eastern Bohemia and northern Moravia, and in the remaining cases, it was an increase in the transshipment capacity of existing transshipment points, especially in northern Moravia, central and northern Bohemia. The remaining four projects were completed in 2023. As part of these projects, one new transshipment point was established and another three underwent capacity increase, greening and improvement in the quality of transshipment services. In 2023, a call for projects was announced under measure 03 - Modernization and construction of combined transport transshipment points with an allocated amount of support of CZK 282.7 million. Three applicants applied with projects that exceeded the allocated amount. These are two projects for the modernization of existing transshipment points and one project for the creation of a completely new combined transport transshipment facility in Central Bohemia.

Road transport fleet

According to information from the Central Vehicle Register, the number of motor vehicles registered in the Czech Republic increased by 3 % in 2023. The total number of registered vehicles, including trailers of all types and categories, increased by roughly the same percentage and exceeded 8.8 million.

The number of registered passenger cars increased again year-on-year and exceeded 6.5 million. As of 1 January 2024, the number reached 6,512,774, which is more than 75 % of the total number of all motor vehicles. More than 63 % of passenger vehicles are older than 10 years and more than 80 % are older than 5 years. Only 8.7 % of passenger cars are less than 2 years old. This ratio does not change year-on-year.

The number of registered trucks increased by 2.7 % in 2023. Since 2015, the number of registered trucks has been growing, although the rate of growth is decreasing. The share of newer vehicles, i.e. older than 2 years, is about 12 %. In 2023, there was a slight increase in the number of minibuses and buses by about 2.7 %. The number of trailers decreased slightly, but not by more than 1 %. A long-term steady decline has been recorded in road tractors, the number of which has fallen to less than a fifth in the last 14 years. In 2018, for the first time in 15 years, the number of tractors increased by 5.5 % year-on-year, but in 2019 there was a decrease of more than 8 %. In 2021, the year-on-year decrease was 7 %, in 2022 by 3 %, and in 2023 the decline continued by another 2 %.

TRANSPORT

In 2023, there were no more restrictions on the mobility of people or goods, yet the overall transport performance in passenger transport recorded a similar growth as in 2022. In rail passenger transport, the year-on-year increase in the number of passengers carried was 8 % and the increase in passenger - kilometers was about 6.8 %, which equaled the values before the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2023, bus transport recorded an increase in the number of passengers carried by about 6.7%, but a decrease in transport performance in passenger - kilometers by 1.5 %. In public transport, there was a year-on-year increase in transport performance of almost 7.5 % in 2023. An interesting fact is that in 2023, the absence of drivers in public transport is no longer a major problem, and drivers are rather lacking locally.

In 2023, air transport continued to grow in the number of passengers and freight carried, although not as sharply as in previous years. In 2023, Czech air carriers saw a year-on-year increase in the number of passengers carried by 4.8 % and an increase in transport performance by 5.5 %. As far as airport performance is concerned, a significant increase of 30 % compared to 2022 was recorded in 2023, but the performance parameters in individual segments (excluding air cargo transport) still did not reach the level of 2017, 2018 and 2019.

In individual car transport, the number of passengers carried increased by 1.4 % in 2023 compared to 2022, as well as the transport performance in passenger - kilometers increased by 1.4 %.

In inland waterway transport, where passenger transport is mainly recreational transport, there was a slight increase in the number of passengers carried in 2023.

The total volume of freight transport in tons decreased by 8.2 % between 2022 and 2023, and transport performance in tonne - kilometers decreased by 2.8 %, year-on-year.

In road freight transport, a decrease in the volume of freight carried was recorded for 2023 by 8.4 % compared to 2022. Transport performance in tonne - kilometers decreased by 1.5 %. While international transport maintained its performance and even grew slightly, domestic transport was in a major decline. The main factors were the war in Ukraine, high inflation in the Czech Republic and disrupted retail chains.

In international freight transport, the activities of Polish and Lithuanian competing carriers were slightly limited (mainly due to the reduction in the supply and operation of drivers from UKR, RUS and BLR), which allowed Czech truck transport to maintain its position. In domestic transport, there was a significant decrease in orders from construction, a decrease in population consumption due to high inflation and stagnation of industrial production, which negatively affected the performance of domestic transport. Overall, outages at the Ministry of the Interior outweighed better results in international transport.

The volume of air transport carried by Czech carriers did not increase in 2023 and remained almost zero. Air cargo is currently operated mainly by foreign carriers. In 2023, a sharp decline in airports' cargo and mail air transport performance was recorded, reaching almost 100 %.

As far as inland waterway transport is concerned, there was a further decrease in tonnes carried by about 3.6 % in 2023 compared to 2022, but transport performance recorded a slight increase of about 12 %. The performance of water freight transport is strongly influenced by the navigability of waterways and the availability of vessels.

ACCIDENTS

In 2023, the Police of the Czech Republic investigated 94,945 traffic accidents, which is a decrease of 3.6 % compared to 2022, 455 people were killed in these accidents, which is one person more than in 2022. In 2023, 1,751 people were seriously injured, an increase of 1 % compared to 2022, and 23,936 people were slightly injured, an increase of 6.6 %. The number of people killed in accidents in 2023 is the second lowest since 1961 (the lowest was in 2022).

In 2023, the number of injured people increased compared to 2022. Nevertheless, the number of seriously injured in 2023 was the third lowest since 1961, when accident statistics began to be monitored. The average daily material damage in traffic accidents is approximately CZK 21 million. Most traffic accidents happened on Friday, the least on Sunday. Around 82 % of road accidents were caused by drivers of motor vehicles, with the main causes being improper driving, excessive speed, not paying full attention to driving the vehicle and incorrect turning and reversing. The highest increase in the total number of traffic accidents was caused by drivers of non-motor vehicles. There was also an increase in the number of accidents caused by the presence of alcohol and drugs, with 12 more accidents compared to last year. Most traffic accidents occurred in the Central Bohemian Region, followed by Prague and the Moravskoslezský Region. A decrease was recorded in the Vysočina Region and the Ústí nad Labem Region.