February 1, 2023, lan
2.2. – The main objective of investments on the lines between Radotín and Krčí and between Smíchovský and the main railway station in Prague is to significantly increase the railway capacity by adding additional tracks. The Ministry of Transport thus responded to Tuesday’s request by carriers, the Central Bohemian Region, Prague and others for an expedited solution to the situation around the Vytoň and Banické bridges in Prague (see call).
In response to this request, the Ministry of Transport published the following main statuses and facts about the appearance of buildings in Prague.
1) Double-tracking of the line Branický most – Prague-Krč – Spořilov
The goal is to ensure sufficient capacity of the detour route for passenger and freight traffic, both for the period of reconstruction of the bridges under Vyšehrad and also as part of the modernization of the Praha-Smíchov station.
After the approval of the action in the capital construction plan, the Railway Administration started work on the project documentation in March 2020.
On the basis of the surveys carried out, the Railway Administration found out that the Branické Bridge was in a worse condition, and therefore proposed its partial reconstruction.
The intention of the project was approved by the Central Commission of the Ministry of Transport in October 2021, and at the end of last year, the documentation for the joint permit was also completed, which is an unusually fast deadline under the current legislative conditions.
Only the demands raised by the Transport Company of the Capital City of Prague and the Technical Administration of Communications represented a two-month delay in preparation.
Representatives of the ŽESNAD.CZ association and the Central Bohemian Region were part of the discussion of the documentation, and thus had a detailed overview of the scope and all the problems solved. The project developers dealt with all the requirements in the shortest possible time.
The railway administration strives to minimize negative impacts on traffic. That is why it is one of the criteria of the currently published tender for finished buildings in Braník reduction of the time of complete stoppage of traffic with a weight of 35%.
The request therefore corresponds to what is mentioned in the challenge of the region, Prague and carriers: to carry out all the work on the Branické bridge with the shortest possible stoppage of traffic.
2) Railway bridge under Vyšehrad
On the seriousness of the condition of the railway bridge and the necessary reconstruction of the railway administration of the Railway Administration since 2003, when it became its property.
Between 2011 and 2015, the feasibility study of the estuary III was processed and discussed. Transit railway corridor to the Prague railway junction and after its approval the project preparation was started.
In 2018, a detailed survey of the entire structure was carried out, subsequently supplemented by two opposing opinions from the University of Žilina to verify the static calculation, and then from the Klokner Institute of the Czech Technical University to verify the diagnostic survey.
In the course of subsequent discussions with state administration authorities, including preservationists and the leadership of the capital city of Prague, the Railway Administration commissioned the Klokner Institute of Czech Technical University to evaluate the works and assessments carried out so far on the heritage-protected railway bridge with the participation of foreign expert prof. E. Brühwiler, whose participation was requested by Adam Scheinherr, the Deputy Mayor of Prague for Transport, and was financed by the Railway Administration.
The conducted survey and the opinions of the opponents have indeed confirmed that the existing bridge is at the limit of its useful life with a limitation until 2023, while there is also the possibility of a significant restriction or stoppage of operation, for example based on continuous measurements.
In the course of the project preparation, the capital city of Prague presented two more proposals for a possible reconstruction solution without consulting the Railway Administration, and subsequently the extension to a three-track solution was discussed at the Ministry of Transport. There is general agreement on it with regard to the transport needs of the metropolis.
The Railway Administration therefore proceeded to award a competitive dialogue on the proposal of a new three-track solution for the possible use of the existing bridge structure, taking into account both local and operational conditions, as well as the conditions of historic preservation.
The competitive dialogue took place between 2021 and 2022. Although the mentioned steps were completely relevant in the given situation, in terms of time they meant further delay in preparation, which the Railway Administration could not influence.
Despite the completely transparent formula and the process of selecting the winning proposal, the result of the competition is currently being questioned, including by the outgoing Náměstí Adam Scheinherr, who was a member of the expert committee. This threatens to further delay project preparation and subsequent implementation.
Operational restrictions on the bridge are a reaction to the deteriorating condition of the bridge in an attempt to maintain at least partial train operation until the reconstruction begins.
In January 2023, the Railway Administration organized a public presentation of all the proposals involved in the competitive dialogue and is planning further events to inform the public as much as possible and for open communication of the next necessary steps. Everything takes place in the shortest possible time.
“The Railway Administration, together with the Ministry of Transport, attaches great importance to both conditions. Ensuring a safe and operational rail network is a top priority. The Ministry of Transport and the Railway Administration would therefore welcome greater support for the proposed solutions and more active involvement of the Central Bohemian Region, new Prague, the affected city districts, carriers, transport organizers in the successful completion of the preparation and implementation of these necessary buildings. Our common goal must be to preserve the legacy of our ancestors to the greatest extent possible, to maintain train traffic across the Vltava and to improve the train route for passenger and freight traffic,” said František Jemelka, spokesman for the Ministry of Transport.
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Photo: LAN