Radek Podstawka, a railwayman by profession and in his soul, graduated from the University of Transport and Communications of Žilina. He has been the Deputy Governor of the Moravian-Silesian Region for Transport since 2020, focusing on the use of mining sidings and regional lines.
The dense rail network in the region is a big challenge for further use. What is your vision?
The Moravian-Silesian Region has a unique location in terms of rail transport. Apart from the fact that the main lines connecting our region with other metropolises of the Czech Republic are located there, we have direct connections with Slovakia and Poland. This predetermines that rail transport in the region should be of a high quality, not only in terms of its density but especially in terms of the range of rail services offered.
We have a lot to offer, especially to tourists, and it is my vision to continue developing rail transport in the region to provide the best possible transportation to all the places worth visiting.
We have a lot to offer, especially to tourists, and it is, therefore, my vision to continue to develop rail transport in the region to provide the best possible transport to all the places worth visiting. In addition to connecting places of tourist interest, one of my visions is to further use the coal sidings of the Ostrava-Karviná Coal District to offer tourists sightseeing trains to areas that are often not commonly accessible and to show people interesting places in our region. The medium-term vision especially includes a better connection with the border regions of Poland (with the Polish Silesian and Opole Voivodeships). I am toying with the idea of our regional trains going further than just to border stations. I believe that if we offer such a connection (in addition to international long-distance trains), we will be able to increase the attractiveness of our region significantly. After all, the Silesian Voivodeship alone has approximately 4.5 million inhabitants, making it the second most populous voivodeship in Poland.
The region is one of the leaders in the development of the use of alternative drives. How do you see the use of batteries and hydrogen?
Yes, I am personally very pleased with our position. We are among the leaders in hydrogen and CNG (compressed natural gas). Almost 23,000 CNG vehicles (cat. M1) have already been registered in the Czech Republic, and in the Moravian-Silesian Region alone, we have more than 2,600 registered vehicles, representing 11.43% of this total number. This type of propulsion has been interesting not only from the ecological point of view but especially from the point of view of operating costs.
As the declared lifetime of CNG vehicles is usually 15 years, this technology cannot be considered completely unfeasible. In the Moravian-Silesian Region, the vehicle can serve on a medium to longterm basis (for 5 to 10 years), which is also the time needed, in particular, for a more significant expansion of hydrogen propulsion (H2).
As the declared lifetime of CNG vehicles is usually 15 years, this technology cannot be considered completely unfeasible. In the Moravian-Silesian Region, the vehicle can serve on the medium to long-term basis (for 5 to 10 years), which is also the time needed for a greater expansion of hydrogen propulsion (H2) in particular.
We have also embarked on a journey to use battery power. During my tenure, these plans have been reflected in the current Transport Service Plan for the Moravian-Silesian Region, in which we expect to deploy up to 19 battery-powered vehicles (BEMUs) within the Ostrava Region Operational Group. The first four vehicles should be operated by our railway carrier České dráhy from the turn of 2024/2025 on the S8 line: Bohumín / Ostrava střed – Studénka – Kopřivnice – Štramberk. We are also counting on the use of
H2 vehicles. In railway transport, specifically on the Bruntálsko operating set and in road transport on the Havířovsko Region III, Těšínsko Region and Jablůnkovsko Region operating set. We are already preparing a tender for carriers for both modes of transport.
The high-speed line will be an opportunity for the region’s transport connection. At what stage of preparation is it?
The investor responsible for the preparation and implementation of the construction of the high-speed line in the Czech Republic (HSL CR) is Správa železnic, s. o. (state organisation). Our region is also involved in this preparation because the planned HSL directly affects the territory of the Moravian-Silesian Region. In fact, two HSPs will affect us, namely the HSL CR (Prague – Brno – Ostrava) and the HSL PL (Katowice – Ostrava, designed and built by the Polish state organisation Centralny Port Komunikacyjny – CPK).
Personally, I am particularly pleased that thanks to the planned HSLs, the Moravian-Silesian Region will become part of the European network of high-speed railways. In addition to a safe and fast connection to the metropolises – Prague, Vienna, Warsaw, Berlin – the HSL will also provide an important connection between the nearby agglomerations – Ostrava, Brno, and Katowice. Transport on the HSL will clearly bring a reduction in travel times – “getting closer to the destination”.
The construction and operation of the high-speed line will bring new investments to the region.
The situation with HSL PL is such that according to the Polish side, construction should take place between the years 2026–2029. The only ambiguity on the Czech side of the international project is the location where the high-speed line will cross the state border. One variant runs along the D1 motorway near Bohumín, the other near Dolní Lutyně.
The region is also a crossroads of the road network within Europe. Where are you preparing constructions of a supraregional character?
In cooperation with the Ministry of Transport and the Road and Motorway Directorate of the Czech Republic, we are preparing a completion of the D1 motorway,
• the modernisation/reconstruction of the I/48 route to D48
• the completion and commissioning of the connection of Slovakia to the motorway network of northern Moravia – the transfer of the international route E75 between D48 and the Slovak border to a new route – the relocation of I/11–I/68 (a “bypass” of Třinec).
• the modernisation of the I/11 – I/57 route from Ostrava to Opava, Krnov, with a link to the border crossing Bartultovice (Vysoká) – Trzebina (the Lubrza municipality).
A preparation of constructions under the responsibility of the region within the framework of international cooperation – the Interreg Czech Republic – Poland 2021-2027 programme –:
• Route III/4593 Úvalno – Branice, km 6,422–8,770 with a connection to the PR border crossing (including the border bridge)
• Route III/05712 border bridge No 05712-2 Držkovice – Dzierzkowice
• The reconstruction of route III/0578 with a connection to the Vávrovice–Wiechovice border crossing (including the border bridge).
Thank you for the interview
