Railroad System
The railroad system of the Karlovy Vary Region has a satisfactory coverage. The main railroad routes are the electrified routes 179/170 (Germany/Bayreuth – Cheb – Mariánské Lázně – Plzeň – Praha) and 140 (Cheb – Sokolov – Karlovy Vary – Chomutov, then continuing under the number130 towards Ústí nad Labem and then on to Prague or alternatively north to Germany/Dresden. We can mention the railroad lines 149 (Karlovy Vary – Mariánské Lázně), 145 (Sokolov – Kraslice – Germany/Klingenthal), 142 (Karlovy Vary – Nejdek – Germany/Johanngeorgenstadt) or 148/147 (Cheb – Františkovy Lázně – Vojtanov – Germany/Bad Brambach) as the less important routes. The region has two operators of the public railroad system: České dráhy, a.s. and Viamont, a.s.
Technical Infrastructure
Among all the Czech regions, the Karlovy Vary Region has one of the highest percentages of population that has access to the public water system, sewerage and water treatment plants. Most of the households and companies are connected to the electrical and gas network system.
Public Road System
The main road arteries of the Karlovy Vary Region are the I/6 highway (currently this road is being substantially enlarged and it will become the R6 highway passing across the region from its border with Germany/Schirnding, then through Cheb, Sokolov, Karlovy Vary and ending in Prague), the I/13 highway (Karlovy Vary – Most – Teplice – Děčín – Liberec – Frýdlant – Poland), the I/20 highway (Karlovy Vary – Plzeň – České Budějovice), the I/21 highway (Germany/Plauen – Cheb – Mariánské Lázně – connecting with the D5 highway), the I/25 highway (Karlovy Vary – Ostrov – Germany/Chemnitz) and the I/64 highway (Cheb – Aš – Germany/Selb). All the important and larger cities of the region are connected by a dense system of roads falling into the categories II and III. The most important of these roads are being noticeably reconstructed.
Airports
The only Czech civil international airport situated west of Prague can be found in the Karlovy Vary Region. The airport is located 4.5 kilometres outside of Karlovy Vary, the largest city in the region, and during recent years it has been extensively modernized and reconstructed. The main goal is to upgrade its technical status to comply with the standards that are usual for airports belonging to this category, including the preparations for its operation under the regulations of the Schengen Agreement. These steps will be necessary, since the airport performs passport and customs clearance of the passengers. More information about the airport and its modernization can be found on the “Letiště Karlovy Vary website”:
http://www.airport-k-vary.cz . For general aviation, other airports of the Karlovy Vary Region located in Cheb, Mariánské Lázně or Toužim can be used.