In August 2010, SŽ was ordered to stop work on all infrastructure projects as one part of broader government austerity measures that were implemented in response to economic consequences of the Great Recession,[4] However, during the following month, it was decided to revive work on all projects whose contractors agreed to grant a discount against the original tender price.

[5] In December 2010, the Minister of Transportation Vít Bárta proposed restructuring SŽ into a holding company alongside ČD for the purpose of making "subsidies more transparent".

[7] In 2012, SŽ started its largest ever infrastructure project; the construction of a new railway line between Plzeň and Rokycany, expected to cost 7.53 billion CZK (with 85% funding from the EU).

[12] Various projects were being undertaken by SŽ by the early 2020s; as a part of its continuing efforts to modernise and renovate the national railway infrastructure, and more specifically to reduce or elimination congestion along busy lines and key junctions, one major initiative has been the implementation of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS).

[13][17] To this end, a partnership has been formed with the French state railway organisation SNCF, through which SŽ intends to benefit from the high speed expertise of the former.

Intended to carry both passenger and freight transport by rail, the major works involved in the project center on the creation of a new line between Heidenau in Saxony and Ústí nad Labem in the Czech Republic, which will include a cross-border tunnel under the Ore Mountains that is approximately 25km long.