Germany’s Federal Ministry of Transport has forwarded the long-awaited inter-governmental treaty on the 30-kilometre Krušnohorský (Ore-Mountain) tunnel to the Bundestag, Czech daily Echo24 reports. If lawmakers approve the document in coming weeks, Berlin and Prague can immediately sign the accord and move the flagship high-speed rail link into the permitting phase. The twin-bore tunnel is the centre-piece of a 320 km/h corridor that would cut the Prague–Dresden journey from 2 hours 30 minutes to under 60 minutes and slash the Prague–Berlin run to roughly two hours. On the Czech side, Správa železnic expects to build almost 12 km of tunnel plus a new multimodal terminal at Ústí nad Labem. German planners see the project as vital to shifting up to 150 freight and passenger trains per day out of the noise-sensitive Elbe Valley. Both governments endorsed the concept in 2025, but financing details and German parliamentary approval remained open. Saxony’s state premier Michael Kretschmer has lobbied hard in Berlin, arguing that eastern German regions are under-served by high-speed links to Central Europe. The Bundestag’s green light would trigger detailed design work, with construction unlikely before 2032 and opening pencilled in for 2039. For Czech exporters the tunnel promises a step-change in market access: same-day round trips for just-in-time components could move from road to rail, easing truck congestion along the D8 motorway and lowering carbon footprints. Multinationals already running shuttle trains between Prague and German plants say shaving 90 minutes off each leg will let them redeploy rolling stock more efficiently. The tourism sector also expects gains, projecting up to two million additional German arrivals annually once two-hour Berlin services commence.
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Travelers keen to take advantage of these faster connections—or to explore the region even before the tunnel opens—can streamline their Schengen visa applications with VisaHQ. The online service offers up-to-date entry requirements, document checks, and step-by-step support for both leisure and business trips; full details for Czech Republic travel are at https://www.visahq.com/czech-republic/
However, critics on both sides of the border fear budget overruns and question whether the 200 km/h mixed-traffic design is future-proof. Environmental groups also worry about groundwater impacts in the Ore Mountains. The Czech government insists the treaty contains safeguards, including joint monitoring and an EU funding application under the Connecting Europe Facility.
Travelers keen to take advantage of these faster connections—or to explore the region even before the tunnel opens—can streamline their Schengen visa applications with VisaHQ. The online service offers up-to-date entry requirements, document checks, and step-by-step support for both leisure and business trips; full details for Czech Republic travel are at https://www.visahq.com/czech-republic/
However, critics on both sides of the border fear budget overruns and question whether the 200 km/h mixed-traffic design is future-proof. Environmental groups also worry about groundwater impacts in the Ore Mountains. The Czech government insists the treaty contains safeguards, including joint monitoring and an EU funding application under the Connecting Europe Facility.
