CZECH REPUBLIC: Infrastructure manager SŽ has opened a 316 m long reinforced concrete bridge over the Orlík reservoir near Červená nad Vltavou on the Tábor – Písek line.
The new Schwarzenberský Bridge replaces a steel structure dating from 1889 which had limited the maximum speed and weight of trains on the 60 km single-track line. Inaugurated on November 28, the bridge has a main span of 156 m and a height of 34·7 m; it was built by Metrostav at a cost of KC685m.
The new bridge has allowed SŽ to increase the maximum speed for passing trains to 70 km/h. It has a higher weight limit, which enables operator ČD to deploy its Class 847 Pesa RegioFox DMUs on direct Tábor – Písek – Strakonice services, and will also facilitate the reintroduction of freight trains.
The old bridge which stands 9 m north of the new structure was due to be removed, but those plans have been dropped since it was designated as a national cultural monument in November 2021.
