The Pankrác station will be closed for a year due to metro D, the lines will be connected by a tunnel
In the first phase of construction, 10 new stations will be built in the direction from Náměstí Míru to the south to the Písnice Depot. The 10.6-kilometer route should be completed within ten years, and trains to Olbrachtov station should run as early as the end of 2027. Whether the part from Náměstí Míru will lead via the Main Railway Station to Náměstí Republiky or divert to Žižkov , where the massive construction of flats in the vicinity of the former freight station is planned, it has not yet been decided. This should be determined by the metro network development strategy.
“It should answer within a year and a half where to continue or if it is better to start building a roundabout,” said Mayor Adam Scheinherr (Prague himself) at a public debate last week. While Scheinherr handles the metro stations themselves, Petr Hlaváček Square (United Forces for Prague / TOP 09) is in charge of preparing the area on the surface. The land around the station is becoming very lucrative.
The automation of line C is being solved
However, unlike the designed route, the territorial studies in the vicinity of all stations are not yet complete. Therefore, the exits from the metro at the Nové Dvory or Písnice stations are so far designed only as simple shelters, which are easily dismantled, as new construction is planned here. “I think it’s best for the city not to have separate entrances to the buildings, but to enter them directly from the subway,” Scheinherr said.
Passengers on the new line will carry 17 four-car trains without a driver. However, the fact that in the first phase they will have to do without their background in the future Depot Písnice does not matter. “The locomotive will tow them in Pankrác through a connecting tunnel. The automation of line C is also being addressed, so similar cars would run on both lines, ”said Scheinherr.
“Unfortunately, the Pankrác station will have to be out of operation all year round. We have started preparing for this by extending the current tram line from the Prague Uprising to Pankrác, which will lead to Budějovická in the future, “he added. During that time, the Pankrác station will undergo a complete modernization, in addition to the replacement of the vestibule lighting, there will also be an exchange of escalators, which will also lead to route D.
The southern link comes to life with a metro station
According to the spokesman of the transport company Daniel Šabík, the issue of closing Pankrác is still premature. “It certainly won’t be next year or next. We will inform the public about this in time. We will be building for seven and a half years, this will most likely happen in the second half of the construction period, “added Šabík.
The Nádraží Krč station will become one of the major arteries. The neglected area in the vicinity of the Southern Link will require a lot of care, there will be a giant car park with 600 places, a park with running water and an office building, which will serve as acoustic barriers against noise from the busy South Link. In addition, SŽDC also plans to double the existing railway line.