Metro S is not supposed to be another metro line. Prague is running out of steam with rail transport
240,000 people commute to Prague every day for work or education. Only 20% use suburban transport and the rest cross the border of the capital by car. The railway administration is currently about halfway through the development of a feasibility study in which multiple scenarios are being worked on. The capital city of Prague prefers the variant with sunken tunnels for Metro S. The feasibility study should be completed by the end of 2023, further approval is at the Central Commission of the Ministry of Transport.
“It is important for us that the railway continues to develop. We have now hit the capacity ceiling of the Prague railway network and we need new tracks. Without the Metro, we would have a big problem in the future,“ describes the professional concept of transport Institute of Planning and Development of the Capital City of Prague Lukáš Tittl.
The tunnels under the dense development of the center should lead from the airport through Florenc, the Opera central station, on to Albertov, Náměstí Bratří Synků and through Vršovice to Čerčany and Benešov. The second branch runs from Kolín and Neratovice to Karlín, Florenc, Opera, Karlovo náměstí, Smíchovské nádraží to Beroun.
Trains should run at intervals of 7.5 minutes during peak hours and 15 minutes during off-peak hours. Metro S should not only be about serving the city center from the metropolitan area, but also about transporting passengers who will arrive in Prague on the high-speed line, which is expected in the future. If the state is serious about high-speed lines, they will bring more trains to Prague than the current railway junction can accommodate. The capacity of the center of the Prague railway hub needs to be solved, and that way seems to be tunnels for the suburban railway, which will free up the current station and track.
According to the Railway Administration, the start of construction is planned for 2035 and the end of construction about fifteen years later. The estimated cost of Metro S is 100 to 200 billion CZK.
Why dig tunnels for the suburban railway in Prague? How is the high-speed line related to traffic in the center of Prague and why is Metro S only in the hands of Prague? Listen to the full post.