One of us

When people in the city don't know about us, it means everything is working 

As a trolleybus drives through the streets of Hradec Králové, most passengers probably do not think about everything that has to work several meters above their heads and where the electricity in the overhead lines actually comes from. And according to Jan Havlík, that is exactly how it should be. The head of the overhead lines and substations center at the Hradec Králové Public Transport Company says that the best result of his team's work is a state where the public practically does not know they exist. In his free time, it is a bit different for him. He switches to a road bike and, as a licensed competitor, also appears at the start of races, including the traditional criterium in the center of Hradec Králové.

He's been through almost everything at the center 

Jan Havlík joined the transport company in 2005 as an overhead line worker. His professional career there was interrupted by approximately four years of experience abroad. He worked for a company specializing in the construction of overhead contact lines and, through its contracts, traveled to various places around the world. 

„We did what transport companies usually have built externally – overhead contact lines for railways and urban transport. I gained further experience there and also got into construction management,“ he recalls. 

After returning to Hradec Králové, he worked for approximately three years at the substations and subsequently took over the management of the entire center from Stanislav Kotek. „You could say I went through absolutely everything here,“ he summarizes. 

Today, as the head of the overhead contact line and substation center, he is responsible for more than just the traction lines and substations themselves. His remit also includes power engineering, technical inspections of rail vehicles, and supervision of the electrical parts of the transit authority's equipment. 

From planning to the last screw 

At the same time, the work of a center manager is far from just organizing people. Jan Havlík plans maintenance, purchases, supplies, as well as individual construction projects and repairs.

Article continues in magazine Dopravák