PRAGUE - Transport in Prague is entering a new era. The Railway Administration is starting operations on the modernised line between Bubny and the new stop at Výstaviště. After forty years, the metropolis has a new railway station, and a European one at that. For the first time, passengers from Kladno will be able to comfortably transfer from trains to all metro lines. The section is part of the connection being built from the centre of the capital to Václav Havel Airport and Kladno.
Bubny railway station is located on two important suburban lines. Passengers will be able to reach Kralupy nad Vltavou and then Ústí nad Labem from Saturday 2 August, while trains from Masaryk Station to Kladno will use it from Monday 4 August. The increase in the capacity of the modernised line will allow more connections to be introduced.
"This project is extremely important not only in terms of transport, but it is changing the face of the capital to a great extent. Bubeň railway station is becoming the cornerstone of the new district that will be built here in the coming years. The railway is thus once again fulfilling its historic role as an impetus for the development of the wider area," says Transport Minister Martin Kupka.
Unique technical work
Practically the entire modernised section - almost a kilometre of the line - is built on pillars. The through trestles replaced the railway embankments that divided the area for decades. This made it possible to remove the busy crossing in Bubenská Street and to connect the upper and lower parts of Holešovice with the new Nicholas Winton Street.
For the first time in the Czech Republic, trains in Bubny also enter directly into the interior of the station building. It has dimensions of 250 x 50 metres and also stands on pillars. This has enabled the creation of a space with more than ten commercial units under the platforms. These will open gradually over the coming months, during which time finishing work is still underway. Passengers can reach the trains by escalators or lifts, there are glass waiting rooms on the platforms, and the interior of the station is enlivened by trees with automatic irrigation.
"If I had to find one word to describe this project, it would be generosity. It was an extremely demanding construction, both technically and organisationally. But it proved that we can pull together - the state, the designers, the developer, the municipality and Prague 7," says Jiří Svoboda, Director General of the Railway Administration, and continues: "The constructive approach of the local residents, with whom we managed to find agreement on some details, also helped us. This also allowed the construction to proceed smoothly and without unnecessary delays."
The modernised section ends at the new stop at Výstaviště. In addition to stairs, access to the platform is also provided by lifts. A footbridge runs over the tracks of the line to Kladno, which has improved access from Letná to Stromovka. The contractors of the works were Metrostav TBR, OHLA ŽS and Elektrizace železnic Praha. The total cost of the construction amounted to CZK 5,644,223,231.
"The modernisation project of the line Bubny - Výstaviště is one of the most demanding we have implemented in the Czech Republic. I would like to thank our team and colleagues from the association for their professional commitment and excellent cooperation. I am glad that we could be present at the project, which will set completely new standards and significantly improve the level of railway transport in the capital city," says Aleš Gothard, Chairman of the Board and Director of Metrostav TBR.
The project entitled Modernisation of the line Praha-Bubny (incl.) - Praha-Výstaviště (incl.) is co-financed by the EU from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) programme. The total amount of eligible costs of the project amounts to EUR 119 231 838. The rate of EU support is 85 % of the eligible costs, so the maximum amount of subsidy is €101,347,062, which represents about CZK 2.5 billion. The national financing was provided by the State Fund for Transport Infrastructure.
"European financial support typically reaches 85 per cent of eligible costs, so it is a driving force for the entire railway construction sector in the Czech Republic. Thanks to our membership of the EU, we are also running new trainsets on modernised lines. The Connecting Europe Facility has contributed nearly CZK 2.5 billion of the nearly CZK 3 billion cost of rail infrastructure to the section we are putting into operation today. I would like to remind you that from the same source huge sums of money also flow to two other large-scale constructions currently underway in Prague: CZK 2.5 billion for the reconstruction of Masaryk Station and almost CZK 3.5 billion for the total reconstruction of the Prague-Smíchov railway station," adds Monika Ladmanová, Head of the Representation of the European Commission in the Czech Republic.
History is not forgotten
In July, the reconstruction of the original Prague-Bubny station building began, which is now taking on a completely new mission. The Bubny Centre for Memory and Dialogue is being created here to commemorate the nearly 50,000 Jews deported from this station between 1941 and 1945. The project sensitively expands the original building and preserves its characteristic elements. The nearly CZK 190 million construction is expected to be completed in two years.
Before the beginning of the modernisation, trains used to cross Dukelské hrdinů Street over the historic bridge, which was built in connection with the Jubilee Exhibition in 1891 and thanks to its riveted construction is a typical example of railway construction from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Thanks to the cooperation with the National Technical Museum, it will become part of the exhibition to be created at Masaryk Station.
Rail to airport
The modernisation of the 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 the extensive reconstruction of Masaryk Station is in full swing. In addition, trains are already running on the modernised section between Kladno and Kladno-Ostrovec stations. This year the Railway Administration plans to start the complete modernisation of the line from Prague Ruzyně to Kladno. Next year it will start looking for builders for the section from Výstaviště to the new underground station in Dejvice. We should reach Václav Havel Airport from Prague by train around 2030.
More detailed information about the individual stages of the Prague - Airport - Kladno railway project can be found on the website zeleznicenaletiste.cz.
Minister for Transport
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