First Czech switch for high-speed lines

“The preparation of high-speed lines has advanced to the stage where hundreds of kilometres of future sections are already being designed. Therefore, it is necessary to be ready for their operation in all aspects. This is also an opportunity for the Czech railway industry, which has a rich tradition and at the same time is competitive on world market,” says Martin Kupka, Minister of Transport.

Products from the Prostějov manufacture for switches are also used on the corridor lines of Správa železnic, where they contribute to the acceleration of operation. Already in 2007, a switch was installed at Poříčany station, which allows driving in the branch direction at a speed of 130 km/h. It has been possible to run even 30 km/h faster for four years to the branch line via a pair of switches at Prosenice station. 

“Switches are an integral part of the railway infrastructure; there are over twenty thousand of them on our network. In this area we also invest in modern products that help us to improve the parameters of the Czech railway network. For example, switches with a movable nose of the crossing are already a common part of our lines, which offer greater comfort to passengers when the train is changing to another track,” says Jiří Svoboda, Director
General of Správa železnic.

“Our switches, switch structures or their components have already found their way to more than 30 countries worldwide. The switch presented today is a concrete result of our long-term efforts to prepare and offer a product of competitive technical level with the necessary added value created in the Czech Republic,” explains Marek Smolka, Director General of DT – Výhybkárny a strojírny.

The participants of the event also had the opportunity to see the largest investment project in the history of DT to date, namely the new 118 x 46 m production hall equipped with automated production technology for the pressing of railway tongue rail ends, which will be put into operation at the end of this year. The main motive for the decision to implement this investment was the need to ensure the company's self-sufficiency in the production of the key component of the high-speed switch, which is the switch tongue with a length of almost 70 m, as well as the need to replace the existing age-old equipment for the production of railway tongues intended for switches on conventional lines.

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