Prague, July 26 (IANS): The Czech Republic is set to embark on the construction of high-speed railway (HSR) lines next year, Transport Minister Martin Kupka announced on Friday.

The first phase of the HSR project will connect Brno, the country's second-largest city, with Prerov in the east, starting in 2025. Construction of the second phase, linking Brno with the southeastern border town of Breclav, is scheduled to begin in 2026, Kupka revealed at a conference in Prague.

Trains on the new high-speed lines will reach speeds of up to 320 kilometers per hour. The overall cost of building the core HSR infrastructure across the Czech Republic is projected to be 800 billion Czech crowns (34 billion U.S. dollars).

Discussions on constructing HSR in the Czech Republic have been ongoing since the 1990s, but significant progress has only been made in recent years, Xinhua news agency reported.

If the current timeline is maintained, the next major phase, including the Prague corridor, is expected to commence in 2030.

A transport model from the Railway Administration predicts that the new high-speed rail between Prague and Brno will serve up to 60,000 passengers daily, reducing travel time between the two cities from nearly three hours to around 50 minutes.

"The construction of high-speed railway and increased investment in infrastructure are crucial for the Czech Republic," Kupka emphasized, highlighting the impressive economic growth in neighboring Poland following substantial investments in its motorway network.

In addition to the HSR lines, a central dispatching center for remote traffic control will be established in Prague, with construction beginning in 2027.

The Railway Administration is also actively seeking public input for the HSR project through "feeling maps," with nearly 700 Prague residents having submitted over 2,000 suggestions.