V4 Transport Ministers Ink Declaration on High-speed Railway Construction

Bratislava, May 21 (TASR) - Visegrad Four (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia) transport ministers on Tuesday signed a declaration on a concerted approach to the construction of high-speed railway, set to link Budapest, Bratislava, Prague and Warsaw, TASR learnt on Tuesday. At the moment, a feasibility study on the project is being drafted. "We're talking about a route with speeds of up to 300 km/h and a high-speed line must be build for that. It'll be a brand new line," Transport Minister Arpad Ersek (Most-Hid) said, adding that a joint committee will deliberate on technical issues. Ersek believes that the new railway line could compete with air travel, as unlike airports it will have railway stations in the city centres. No time frame has been charted for the project yet because the technical details haven't been hammered out, but the line is likely to be co-financed also by European Funds. It was the EU Funds for the 2021-28 programming period that were on the agenda of the joint V4 meeting. "We can't allow the Funds to be cut. It is the development of infrastructure that is crucial for the economic sector and its development. Having successful EU economic tools such as the cohesion policy continue to be of cardinal importance," stated Hungarian Minister for Innovations Tamas Schanda. This sentiment was echoed also by Czech Transport Minister Vladimir Kremlik and Polish Minister for Infrastructure Andrzej Adamczyk. mf/mcs/am