Modernisation of the line to the airport in the section between Bubny and Výstaviště begins12/1/2023|Press releasesThe railway in Holešovice in Prague will fundamentally change its appearance. This will be thanks to the reconstruction of the section from the station in Bubny to the new stop Praha-Výstaviště, which Správa železnic started at a starting ceremony. This is another of a series of projects that will result in a fast and ecological railway connection from the centre of Prague to Kladno, with a branch-off to Václav Havel Airport. The main objective of the project is a major modernisation of the Prague-Bubny station, double-tracking of the line in the length of about 1.3 kilometres, its electrification and building a new stop Praha-Výstaviště. The construction of an underpass that will allow a direct transfer between trams and trains is also under way. Thanks to coordination with the Prague City Hall, the necessary closures will be utilised for both construction projects. "Building a high-quality railway connection from the capital 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 today we are starting the modernisation of another section, which is not very long, but its importance goes far beyond the borders of Prague. When relocated, the Prague-Bubny station will become an important transfer point for public transport in the metropolis," says transport minister Martin Kupka. "The section up to the new Praha-Výstaviště stop is directly connected to the Negrelli Viaduct, as already reconstructed. The modern station Praha-Bubny with three platforms and four tracks will become a certain contrast to this historical building. Regarding safety, the replacement of the busy crossing in Bubenská Street with a railway bridge is important as well as the raising of the bridge structure in Dukelských hrdinů street," says Jiří Svoboda, Director General of Správa železnic. "The implementation of such a major project always brings a significant burden on the local community. I would therefore like to ask our residents for their understanding and patience. The result will be worth it. The modernised railway will give us a fast way of transport around the city and it will be the fastest connection to metro lines A and B. It will also remove a barrier for the tracks that has divided Prague 7 into two parts for over a hundred years. Thanks to the new bridge, Holešovice, Bubny and Letná will finally be connected and the busy crossing in Bubenská will no longer block traffic," says Jan Čižinský, mayor of Prague 7. The first thing to come are preparations, especially the setting up of the construction site. At the same time, a temporary track will be built to maintain the operation of trains in the direction of Kralupy nad Vltavou. The largest civil structures – three bridges and a new station building in Bubny – are are next ones this May. The work will be finished in 2025. The Prague-Bubny station will move to a new location closer to the Negrelli Viaduct and offer a direct transfer to metro C. Its appearance will be changing over time. In the first phase, when it will be the only building in the area, a grass rest area will be built on its roof to allow people to view the city and the changing Holešovice. In the next stage of the works, an office building will be built together with the new city district directly above the station. The station lobbies will also accommodate commercial spaces to be used by the residents of the future new Bubny-Zátory district. The modernised line to the new Praha-Výstaviště stop will be mostly placed on a bridge. The stop itself will be built on the edge of Stromovka. A nearby footbridge over the railway line will improve the connection between this popular park and Letná. Thanks to close cooperation between Správa železnic and the capital city, a tram underpass will also be built during the modernisation works. "The area around Vltavská station, today a neglected place, will play a big role in the transformation of the entire Bubny-Zátory brownfield. And it is starting now thanks to the railway station project. In the near future the construction of the Vltava Philharmonic building will hopefully begin, which should complete the whole transformation. I am looking forward to taking a train ride with the minister to the new concert hall," says Prague deputy mayor, architect Petr Hlaváček. The contractor is the joint venture of Metrostav TBR, OHLA ŽS and Elektrizace železnic Praha. "We are pleased to be participating as contractors in this prestigious transport project. This is a very challenging project in the centre of the capital city. The bridges and the new stations Bubny and Výstaviště will completely change the entire existing space. We have a very experienced team at our disposal and believe that we will complete the construction to the satisfaction of the investor and passengers," says Aleš Gothard, director of Metrostav TBR, the leader of the joint venture. "Building a railway line from the centre of the capital city directly to our terminals will increase the prestige of the entire Václav Havel Airport Prague. Convenient and fast transport connections will help us improve the comfort of passengers on their way to and from the capital and attract more passengers," said Jiří Kraus, vice-chairman of the board of directors of Prague Airport. The modernisation work will be followed by a third project, the transformation of the original Prague-Bubny station building into a memorial site with a permanent exhibition commemorating the deportations of Prague's Jews during the Protectorate. The project of the state organization Památník ticha (“Silence Memorial”) is in the stage of preparation of documents for contractor selection. "The winning design that came out of the Silence Memorial competition is in fact a sculpture in architecture. Our partnership with Správa železnic will enable the transformation of the space into an open-air gallery that will welcome visitors to Prague travelling from the airport to Masaryk Station," says Pavel Štingl, director of the Silence Memorial. The project called “Modernisation of line Praha-Bubny (including) – Praha-Výstaviště (including)” is co-financed by the EU from 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 eligible costs. The maximum amount of the 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 (SFDI). The modernisation of the railway line from Prague to Kladno with the connection of Václav Havel Airport is divided into more than ten construction projects. Between 2017 and 2020 the Negrelli viaduct was reconstructed and last year the reconstruction of the line between Kladno and Kladno-Ostrovec stations began. This year Správa železnic plans to announce tenders for Praha-Ruzyně – Kladno and the modernisation of Prague Masarykovo nádraží station. This should be followed by works in the Praha-Ruzyně – Václav Havel Airport Prague section and on the new station construction directly at the airport. From 2025 onward, the reconstruction of three sections between the new Praha-Výstaviště stop and Praha-Ruzyně station is planned. The lines will be connected into a ring line at the end, which will enable a direct connection between the airport and Kladno.