PRAGUE - Prague's transportation system is entering a new era. The Czech Railways is launching operations on the modernized track between Bubny and the new station at Výstaviště. After forty years, the capital city is getting a new railway station, one of European standards. Passengers from Kladno will, for the first time, have convenient connections to all metro lines. This section is part of the planned connection from the city center to Václav Havel Airport and to Kladno.

The Bubny station is located on two important suburban lines. Passengers will be able to travel to Kralupy nad Vltavou and further to Ústí nad Labem from Saturday, August 2nd. Trains from Masaryk Station to Kladno will begin using the station from Monday, August 4th. The increased capacity of the modernized track will allow for more frequent services.

"This project is exceptionally important, not only for transportation, but it also significantly changes the face of the capital city. The Bubny station is becoming the cornerstone of a new district that will emerge in the coming years. The railway is once again fulfilling its historical role, acting as a catalyst for the development of the surrounding area," said Minister of Transport Martin Kupka.

A Unique Engineering Achievement
Virtually the entire modernized section – nearly a kilometer of track – is built on pillars. Elevated viaducts have replaced the railway embankments that had divided the area for decades. This has allowed for the elimination of a frequently used road crossing at Bubenské Street and has also connected the upper and lower parts of Holešovice with a new street named after Nicholas Winton.

For the first time in the Czech Republic, trains at Bubny station enter directly into the interior of the station building. The building measures 250 x 50 meters and is also built on pillars. This has created space with more than a dozen commercial units under the platforms. These will be opening gradually in the coming months, as finishing work continues. Passengers can access the trains via escalators or elevators. The platforms feature glass waiting areas, and trees with automatic irrigation systems bring life to the interior of the station.

"If I had to find one word to describe this project, it would be 'ambitious.' It was an extremely demanding construction project, both technically and organizationally. However, it has been proven that we can work together – the state, designers, developers, the city hall, and Prague 7," said Jiří Svoboda, General Director of Czech Railways, and continued: "We were also helped by the constructive approach of the local residents, with whom we were able to find common ground on some details. Thanks to this, the construction could proceed smoothly and without unnecessary delays."

The modernized section ends at the new station at Výstaviště. In addition to stairs, elevators provide access to the platforms. A bridge above the tracks to Kladno has improved access from Letná to Stromovka. The companies involved in the construction were Metrostav TBR, OHLA ŽS, and Elektrizace železnic Praha. The total cost of the construction reached 5,644,223,231 Czech crowns.

"The modernization project of the Bubny – Výstaviště track is one of the most demanding that we have implemented in the Czech Republic. I thank our team and our colleagues from the consortium for their professional dedication and excellent cooperation. I am pleased that we were able to be part of a project that sets completely new standards and significantly improves the level of railway transportation in the capital city," said Aleš Gothard, Chairman of the Board and Director of Metrostav TBR."The project, titled "Modernization of the Prague-Bubny (including) – Prague-Výstaviště (including) railway line," is co-financed by the EU through the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) program. The total eligible costs of the project amount to €119,231,838. The EU funding rate is 85% of the eligible costs, with a maximum grant of €101,347,062, which is approximately 2.5 billion Czech crowns. The national funding was provided by the State Fund for Transport Infrastructure. "European financial support typically reaches 85 percent of eligible costs, making it a driving force for the entire railway construction sector in the Czech Republic. Thanks to our membership in the EU, we also travel on modernized tracks in new railway sets. For the section that we are putting into operation today, the Connecting Europe Facility contributed nearly 2.5 billion crowns out of the total railway infrastructure costs of almost 3 billion crowns. I would like to remind you that a huge amount of funding is also coming from the same source for two other major construction projects currently underway in Prague: 2.5 billion crowns for the reconstruction of Masaryk Station and nearly 3.5 billion crowns for the complete reconstruction of Prague-Smíchov station," adds Monika Ladmanová, Head of the European Commission Representation in the Czech Republic. **Preserving History** In July, the reconstruction of the original Prague-Bubny station building began, and it is gaining a completely new purpose. The Bubny Center for Remembrance and Dialogue is being created, which will commemorate nearly fifty thousand Jews deported from this station between 1941 and 1945. The project sensitively expands the original building while preserving its characteristic features. The construction, costing almost 190 million crowns, is expected to be completed in two years. Before the modernization, trains crossed Dukelských hrdinů street on a historic bridge. It was built in connection with the Jubilee National Exhibition in 1891 and, thanks to its riveted construction, represents a typical example of railway construction from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. In cooperation with the National Technical Museum, it will become part of an exhibition that will be created at Masaryk Station. **Rail to the Airport** The modernization of the railway line between Bubny and Výstaviště is part of the Prague – Airport – Kladno project, which consists of 11 separate stages. The reconstruction of the Negrelli viaduct is complete, and a major reconstruction of Masaryk Station is underway. Trains are already running on the modernized section between the stations of Kladno and Kladno-Ostrovec. This year, the Railway Administration plans to begin the complete modernization of the railway line from Prague-Ruzyně to Kladno. Next year, it will begin looking for contractors for the section from Výstaviště to the new underground station in Dejvice. We should be able to reach Václav Havel Airport by train around the year 2030. More detailed information about the individual stages of the Prague – Airport – Kladno railway project can be found on the website zeleznicenaletiste.cz. Martin Kupka Minister of Transport Deputy Chairman of the Party Member of the Czech Parliament Expert in Public Administration