The main objective of the project is a major modernisation of the Praha-Bubny station, double-tracking of the line in the length of about 1.3 kilometres, its electrification and building a new stop Praha-Výstaviště (near one of the Prague exhibition centres).
"Building a quality railway connection from the metropolis to the largest city of the Central Bohemian Region and also to the most important airport in the Czech Republic is one of the priorities of our government. I am therefore glad that we are starting the modernisation of another section, which is not very long, but its importance goes far beyond the borders of Prague," says Czech Transport Minister Martin Kupka.
Preparatory work, especially the construction of the site, will come first. At the same time, a temporary track will be built to maintain train traffic in the direction of Kralupy nad Vltavou. The largest construction objects - three bridge flyovers and a new station building in Bubny - will be ready this May. It will be ready in 2025.
"The construction of a railway from the centre of the metropolis directly to our terminals will increase the prestige of the entire Václav Havel Airport Prague. A convenient and fast transport connection will help us to improve the comfort of passengers on their way to and from the metropolis and attract other passengers," says Jiří Kraus, Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of Prague Airport.
The contractor of the construction is an association of companies Metrostav TBR, OHLA ŽS, and Elektrizace železnic Praha. "We are pleased to be participating as contractors in this prestigious transport project. It is a very demanding project in the center of the capital city. The bridge flyovers and the new stations Bubny and Výstaviště will completely change the entire existing area," says Aleš Gothard, director of Metrostav TBR, the leader of the contractors' association.
The modernisation work will be followed by a third construction project, namely the transformation of the original Prague-Bubny station building into a memorial site with a permanent exhibition commemorating the Prague Jewish deportations during the Protectorate. The project of the state organization Memorial of Silence is in the stage of preparing the documents for the construction contractor.
"The winning project, which came out of the Memorial of Silence competition, is a sculpture in architecture. Our partnership with the Railway Administration will enable the transformation of the space into an open-air gallery that will welcome visitors to Prague traveling from the airport to Masaryk Station," says Pavel Štingl, director of the Memorial of Silence.
The project, called Modernisation of the line Prague-Bubny - Prague-Výstaviště, is co-financed by the EU under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) programme. The total amount of eligible project costs is CZK 2 959 340 720. The EU support rate is 85% of the eligible costs. The maximum amount of subsidy is therefore EUR 101 347 062, i.e. approximately CZK 2 515 439 612. National funding will be provided by the State Fund for Transport Infrastructure.
