Railway Transport and Tourism Development in the Czech Republic (Past, Present, and Future)

The paper was presented at the international conference T2M 2006 in York, U.K.

Tourism resources can be understood as material objects, natural or antropogenous by nature, having the potential to provide an opportunity for tourism and be at the same time transformed into a resource of certain economic value. The material (physical) form of such a resource, however, is not sufficient – the necessary prerequisites include:
a) subjective assessment of the potential by society (the impact of economic circumstances, individual opinions and attitudes, perception, political conditions, technological progress, etc.);
b) supplying a wide range of tourist services that can meet people's needs (general infrastructure, including transport structure, receptive facilities, entertainment and sports facilities, and other services).

From the geographical point of view, it is also important that both essential parts of tourism (tourists and resources) tend to be spatially separated. It was only at a certain level of technological development that this separation of supply and demand could be overcome. From the historical point of view, it happened exactly at the time of the creation of the first effective system of transport, namely the railway. Many authors therefore connect the beginning of modern tourism with the intensive development of railway transport in the second half of 19th century.

Past
For the purposes of this paper the Krkonoše and Jizerské Mountains have been chosen (see Fig. 1) to demonstrate the outlined facts. From the point of view of modern mountainous tourism in the Czech Republic, this is a pioneering region. Tracing the connections between opening a particular place and the development of tourism in that place is always very difficult, however, the issue gets even more complex if the period of 2nd half of 19th century is being considered.
It is important to point out that at that time, the construction of railways was primarily motivated by economic reasons (boosting the economy of the region), not by a desire to increase the number of visitors. This fact was also essential in the construction of tracks that are today perceived as almost exclusively tourist ones (such as the cog railway Tanvald – Harrachov in the region concerned).
Even so, the impact of railway transport on the development of tourism in Krkonoše and Jizerské Mountains is highly visible. Fig. 2 (under preparation) shows that railway already made the region accessible from Prague (but not directly) in the 60s of 19th century. The then begun rapid growth in numbers of visitors can be documented indirectly by ample evidence (statistical data from that time that could be a direct proof of the suggested connections do not exist) – to name just some:

• establishment of accommodation and catering facilities – in 2nd half of 19th century a number of lodges were open to tourists – the development of tourism brought about the transformation of traditional lodges (built in 16th and 17th centuries with the aim of breeding and pasturing animals, being converted to suit the needs of all-year tourism), as well as the construction of a number of new lodges / chalets built solely for tourists.
• constructing and marking mountain trails – activities of Czech, and German tourist unions in particular, were significant in this respect in Krkonoše and Jizerské hory regions – to name just a few: “Hauptverband deutscher Gebirgs- und Wandervereine” and “Klub českých turistů” were active throughout the whole territory; “Ősterreichischer Riesengebirgsverein” was among the local ones. The beginning of tourism in the Krkonoše is also connected with the name of Count Jan Harrach, who already in 1870 started to construct mountain trails at his own expense;
• publishing the first guidebooks, recommending visits to the Krkonoše Mountains, including suitable train connections to get there;
• existence of other specialized services for tourists of that time;
• construction of various places of interest for tourists (lookout towers, creating the Labský and Pančavský waterfalls etc.).

Developing tourism had a radical impact on the way of life of the inhabitants of the Krkonoše region – not only had the appearance of settlements changed (public houses, hotels, sleeping accommodations and other services for visitors) but, compared to the surrounding areas, a far larger part of the inhabitants started their own businesses providing services for visitors. The biggest centres of tourism on the Czech side of the mountain range were in Harrachov, Velká Úpa, Pec pod Sněžkou and Špindlerův Mlýn in particular (in 1880 it had a population of 822, in 1910 its population had risen to 1628).

Present
Compared to 2nd half of 19th century, transport accessibility of the Krkonoše and Jizerské Mountains has improved significantly, the major part, however, having been taken over by road transport. The competitiveness of railway (speed, comfort, frequency of trains, etc.) with road transport is still low in the region, among other things also because there is no internationally significant railway track.
The dominance of road transport is generally perceived as an environmental risk. According to available data, road transport has become one of the major polluters – in 1998 road transport in the EU countries (EU-15) was responsible for more than a quarter (28 %) of CO2 emissions, which represents about 84 % of CO2 emissions attributed to transport as a whole, on the world scale, road transport is responsible for 22 % of CO2 production and 12 % of total equivalent greenhouse gas emissions. Other adverse impacts of road transport include water pollution, noise emissions, or introduction of alien species; a number of negative social impacts could be discussed (accidents, congestions, injuries, the space consumption, etc.).
The above-mentioned effects of road transport are a very sensitive issue in the Krkonoše and Jizerské Mountains regions. As a result, conflicts have arisen between those attempting to develop tourism on the one hand, and the environmentalists on the other.
There is a chance that the conflict in this region could be solved or alleviated by the international Czech-German-Polish project “Regiotram NISA”. Its main aim, apart from general ecologisation of transport and increasing railway competitiveness, is to improve public transport services in the Krkonoše (only the western part) and the Jizerské Mountains. The project combines / integrates railway and tram transport into one transport system. If it is realized, the system will interconnect several cities (Zittau in Germany, Liberec a Jablonec nad Nisou in the Czech Republic, Jelenia Góra in Poland), as well as the major mountain centres (Harrachov in the Krkonoše, Tanvald, Desná, Kořenov, and Josefův Důl in the Jizerské Mountains). Given the planned service parameters (regular intervals, new comfortable carriages, new stops to bring trains / trams into city centres and tourist resorts, as well as using the existing tram tracks and constructing new ones), the prepared project should increase the attractiveness of railway lines. This should also help increase the share of railway in tourist transport within the region. Currently, the whole project has been divided into two
parts – basic projects (should be in service between 2007 and 2015) and expansion projects – see also Fig. 3.

Other ways of increasing the attractiveness of railway lines for tourism, apart from the above-mentioned integration with other systems of public transport (the Regiotram NISA project), can also include:

• using attractive parts of existing tracks (mountain track sections with bridges and tunnels) for specialized tourist panoramatic or steam train trips;
• bicycle rentals at railway stations (this system has been working well at several places in the Czech Republic);
• museum railway.

Future, conclusion
The above-mentioned problems are not restricted to the Czech Republic only – road transport also predominates in other European countries when it comes to tourist transport services (air transport comes significantly into play above the regional level). Similar projects aimed at increasing the share of railway transport can be therefore found throughout Europe – the well-known “Gletscherexpress” in Switzerland is a good example.
I think that with respect to the ever-growing emphasis on sustainable transport (see the European Transport Policy) it is possible to consider these projects to be sustainable and desirable.

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