The decision coincides with the political interests of all four members of the V4, Péter Szijjártó said after talks with the transport ministers of the other three members.

The public procurement tender for drawing up a feasibility study for the project will be called as early as this week, he said.

The next step will be to convene a V4 working group of officials representing the four countries in November, he added. The public procurement process will last for six months and the feasibility study will be completed in under two years.

The new, two-track line would be suitable for trains up to a speed of 250 km/h. The trains will only stop in the three capital cities and Brno, he said.

The talks were attended by representatives of the European Investment Bank (EIB). The bank has so far financed lots of rail projects but only 14% of them were in central Europe, Szijjártó said, adding that loan offers will also be invited from other financial institutions, too.

“This will be a typical Visegrad project, with all the four countries involved in talks on funding,” he said.
 

MTI Photo: KKM