Construction of high-speed rail in Czechia is set to commence in 2025.

The Czech Republic is preparing to start building high-speed railway (HSR) lines next year, as announced by Transport Minister Martin Kupka on Friday.

The first phase of the HSR project will connect Brno with Prerov in the east, beginning in 2025. Construction of the second phase, which will link Brno with the southeastern border town of Breclav, is set to start in 2026, as revealed by Kupka at a conference in Prague.

Trains on the new high-speed lines will be able to reach speeds of up to 320 kilometers per hour. The total cost of constructing the core HSR infrastructure across the Czech Republic is estimated to be CZK 800 billion.

Discussions about building HSR in the Czech Republic have been ongoing since the 1990s, but significant progress has only been made in recent years. If the current timeline is maintained, the next major phase, including the Prague corridor, is expected to begin in 2030.

A transport model from the Railway Administration predicts that the new high-speed rail between Prague and Brno will serve up to 60,000 passengers daily, reducing travel time between the two cities from nearly three hours to around 50 minutes.

"The construction of high-speed railway and increased investment in infrastructure are crucial for the Czech Republic," Kupka emphasized, highlighting the impressive economic growth in neighboring Poland following substantial investments in its motorway network.