Prague City Hall plans to launch a tender with an estimated value of CZK 8 billion excluding VAT for the construction of a transport terminal at the Smichov railway station. The intention was approved by the city councillors today and will still be voted on by the city councillors. The terminal will replace the Na Knížecí bus station and will also include a P+R car park. At the same time, the Railway Administration (SŽ) is preparing the reconstruction of the station itself.
The new terminal will include a suburban and long-distance railway station, a metro and tram station and stations for urban, suburban and long-distance buses, trolleybuses and electric bus lines. There will also be a large-capacity P+R car park to the west of the railway station.
According to the city’s plans, the terminal will have several levels. Railway underpasses will lead from Nádražní Street to the platforms. On the second level will be the station itself, which will be on the same level as today, and above it is planned a bus terminal moved from the current Na Knížecí station. Below the terminal will be the metro. All levels and modes of transport will be interconnected.
In the past, cost estimates for the terminal were lower, but according to Deputy Mayor for Transport Zdeněk Hřibo (Pirates), the current estimated cost is due to the significant expansion of the project. According to him, the costs are justified with regard to the provision of transport services. “We need to offer commuters, especially those from other regions, a way to get to Prague comfortably,” he told reporters after the council meeting. He added that the city would be looking to raise money from European funds and, given its importance to the whole region, from the government. “The project will really and demonstrably not only serve Prague residents,” he said.
According to the document approved today, the city council expects construction to start at the end of next year and be completed by the end of 2030. The city is coordinating the work with SŽ, which will be mainly responsible for the reconstruction of the station building and the railway station, including the repair of platforms, the creation of one new one and the repair of underpasses. There will also be a footbridge over the railway to connect Smíchov, Radlice and the Smíchov City district under construction between the station and the Na Knížecí area. In August, SŽ announced a public tender for the work with an estimated value of CZK 5.2 billion.
Smíchov railway station was opened as the second large station in Prague in 1862. The current station building was built in the 1950s, the original buildings were not preserved due to damage during the Second World War. The station is one of the busiest railway junctions in Prague, along with the main station – to which it was connected ten years after its creation and Masaryk station.
Source: CTK
Photo: INSTITUT PLÁNOVÁNÍ A ROZVOJE HLAVNÍHO MĚSTA PRAHY
