Metro in 50 years? Route E surrounds the center
In a few decades, passengers in the Prague metro could hear the following message: “Please complete the exit and boarding, the door is closing. Next station: Pankrác – transfer to lines D and E. “
Route E has been considered for almost thirty years
It is the construction of the semi-circular route E in the distant future that is most often mentioned. It is not yet clear exactly where the fifth underground line would lead. However, if the designers followed the older plans, the “éčko” would connect the stations Pankrác, Smíchovské nádraží, Hradčanská, Vltavská and Palmovka, among others.
“The first studies of route E were created in the 1980s, but its management has not yet been established. However, the Pankrác station is being seriously considered, where a total of three would cross, namely C, D and E, “Pavel Fojtík, head of the Prague Transport Company’s archives, told Deník.
Help for congested trams
This metro line would provide a fast connection between Prague 4 and 5, the only tangent would also be in the area of Holešovice. It facilitated especially the often congested tram connections, for example in the section between the IP Pavlova and Karlovo náměstí stations.
However, the intended metro line is not yet in the zoning plan and its construction is being considered only in the longer term. “It is really a far-reaching view only after 2020. Until then, the current extension of route A at the eastern end of the second branch in the section Strašnická – Zahradní Město – Nádraží Hostivař will be,” confirmed Radovan Šteiner (ODS).
Another option – branching routes
Branching current routes is another option for future metro development. Nowadays, let’s imagine such an element. In the distant future, however, it is expected on route A from Bílé Hory to Zličín and on the opposite side to Běchovice.
The branch was also taken into account when designing the Stodůlky station on route B.
Everyone does not welcome the extension of the routes
However, the construction of other metro lines also has its opponents. For example, urban planner Ivan Lejčar believes that trams and trains can complete the existing metro network.
“Development must continue, but it will depend on the further development of the city. Routes A, B, C, D, to a reasonable extent, yes, but I would not make line E, “says the urban planner. Prague is not Moscow, we have a dense tram network. The circular connection can be provided by trams with inserted high-speed sections similar to Barrandov or Krejcárek. However, I bet mainly on a fully passable suburban railway through the wider center of Prague, “says the urban planner.
Subway fans, on the other hand, go much further in their imagination. Make sure on the website www.metroweb.cz. There is, for example, a map of the possible development of the metro until 2100. Line F connects Zbraslav and Bohnice on it, G crosses the center on the axis Malešice – Řepy, the existing line C has final stations in Čakovice and Uhříněves. In pure cases, it is already fiction.
Prague will not do without a circular route in the future
According to Pavel Fojtík, a historian of the Prague transport company, the construction of metro line E will be necessary in a certain period of time.
Is it possible to expect the construction of other metro lines in the capital, including E lines, or will the tram network be expanded?
I believe that the semi-circular route E will sooner or later be. Need will, because trams are not omnipotent, even though I am a big supporter of them. The construction of high-speed tram lines, which is planned, for example, to Suchdol, is clearly cheaper than the construction of the metro. But in addition to finances, it is also a question of how the territory will develop, what the requirements will be. For example, in the Dvorce – Zlíchov section, the construction of a tram line is planned.
Wouldn’t building E in the same places be an unnecessary luxury?
I think that the metro management in this section is a real matter. My personal opinion is that both the metro and the tram line can run here. Each means provides a different transport relationship.
In general, in which direction do you think the development of the metro in Prague will continue?
There are a number of those options. For example, nowhere does it say that the subway cannot branch. Route A can continue from Strašnice to Hostivař or from Bílá Hora in Zličín. There is also a possible turn at the Stodůlky station on route B. The huge West Town grows nearby, but I haven’t heard anything about its transport services yet.