The European Commission authorised, on Thursday 10 November, a €180 million Czech scheme to support rail and urban public transport operators using electric traction.
The measure will contribute to improving the environmental performance of rail and urban transport, in line with the objectives of the Commission’s Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy and the European Green Deal.
The aid will support operators of rail passenger and freight transport and urban public transport (tramway, trolleybus and cableway systems) which run their vehicles on electric traction. The scheme will apply until the end of 2026.
The aim of the measure is to promote transport by electric traction as a greener mode of transport as opposed to diesel-powered vehicles, and the shift of freight and passenger transport from road to rail and urban transport.
The aid will take the form of an exemption for transport operators from the renewable energy sources fee (‘RES fee’), which is included in the electricity bills of electricity consumers and finances renewables energy generation in the Czech Republic. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)