Olomouc – Floods in mid-September caused total damage of more than a billion crowns on railway lines, especially in the Olomouc and Moravian-Silesian regions. Repairing the damaged sections will take several months. Some devastated tracks in the north of the Olomouc region will only be repaired in the second half of next year. Dušan Gavenda, spokesman for the Railway Administration (SŽ), said this to ČTK’s question today. Trains are not running in Jeseníky due to damaged tracks. As a rule, replacement bus transport has not yet been introduced there, as the floods in this mountainous region also damaged the parallel roads.
“The total damage to the railways in the areas affected by the floods will exceed one billion crowns. After a detailed examination of the condition of the affected sections and the extent of the damage, we are currently finalizing their more accurate calculation,” said Gavenda. Shortly after the floods, SŽ managed to open the line from Hanušovice in Šumpersko to Dolní Lipka in the Pardubice region. According to Gavenda, however, the restoration of other sections in the Hanušovice region will take longer due to their more significant damage. “The track to Bludovo, which has been ground in a number of places, should be put into operation around mid-November. Trains will probably leave for Staré Město pod Sněžnik one month later,” he said.
In mid-December, SŽ wants to provisionally open the railway section from Hanušovice to Branná in Šumperska, so that people can get to the winter resorts by train. “However, further repairs will be necessary here next year as well,” Gavenda pointed out. In the northern part of Jesenice, floods have fatally damaged railway lines in a number of places, and their restoration will be even more time-consuming.
The least damaged section between the stations Lipová-lázně and Vápenná na Jesenick should be passable around mid-December. “At that time, we also expect the line from Jeseník to Písečná to be put into operation. However, the restoration of its continuation to Mikulovice will be made difficult by a large-scale landslide. Work on this section will probably not be completed until the second half of next year. The same prospect of resuming operations is currently also seen for the section from Vápenná to Javorník The damaged track from Mikulovice to Zlaté Hora is to be restored during the first half of next year,” added Gavenda.
CR railway floods, floods Moravskoslezský Olomoucký FLEŠ
Source: www.ceskenoviny.cz
