High-Speed Terminal Prague East designed by ov-architects

Prague - The Railway Administration has selected the winning architectural design for the new high-speed terminal Prague East. The winning entry was the proposal by the author duo Jiří Opočenský and Štěpán Valouch. This is the first architectural and urban planning competition for a rapid transit terminal in the Czech Republic. The Railway Administration announced this yesterday. The terminal will be part of the rapid transit line between Prague and Brno, the first section of which is expected to start construction in 2025.

A total of 21 proposals from both Czech and foreign architectural offices were submitted to the competition for the high-speed railway terminal in the Czech Republic. The candidates proposed the exact location and the external and internal appearance of the new rapid transit terminal on the outskirts of Prague. It was to include 3,000 parking spaces and connections to regional bus transportation. The proposals were evaluated by a jury consisting of six independent architects, two representatives from the Railway Administration, and a representative from Nehvizdy, where the new station will be built in close proximity.

The planned terminal, temporarily named Prague East, will mainly serve the residents of the northeastern part of the Central Bohemia Region and the surrounding areas of Prague. The station should enable them to utilize the high-speed railway without the need to travel to the city center. There will be regular train services to the center of Prague, which should take about 15 minutes, as well as services to Brno, Ostrava, Dresden, Vienna, and other cities.

The Railway Administration hopes that the construction of the terminal will also serve as an impetus for the development of the surrounding area. However, further development of the sites in its vicinity will be fully the responsibility of the local government.

The terminal will be part of the upcoming section from Prague Běchovice to Poříčany. This is among the most advanced projects in the preparation of rapid transit lines in the Czech Republic; the administration has announced a tender for the preparation of documentation for the zoning process. The state is also preparing sections of the rapid transit lines in an expedited manner: Přerov (Prosenice)–Ostrava–Svinov on the main route between Prague, Brno, and Ostrava, the section Brno (Modřice)–Vranovice on the route Brno–Vienna/Bratislava, and also two sections between Prague and Dresden.

The construction of high-speed lines is expected to significantly increase the capacity of the current railway network and also speed up connections on heavily trafficked routes. Discussions about construction in the Czech Republic have been ongoing since the 1990s, but preparations only began in recent years.