Brno requests a grant for the preparation of a study for the underground railway

Brno – Brno is requesting a grant from the state to develop a study for the construction of an underground railway similar to the metro, which is intended to connect the northern and southern parts of the city. The estimated cost of the study for the so-called north-south rail diameter is 16.5 million crowns, said Brno councilor Filip Chvátal (KDU-ČSL), who is responsible for spatial planning, to reporters today. The underground railway is necessary because the surface public transport is no longer sufficient in terms of capacity. It would also stop at the planned train station, which is to be located outside the city center at the site of the current lower station by the river.

The Brno council approved the application for funds from the State Fund for Transport Infrastructure today. The fund can cover up to 100 percent of the study costs. According to Chvátal, the assignment is being finalized, and then it will be possible to select a study contractor. Work is expected to begin next year and will last for a year and a half. The study will work with three variants: an underground railway, a metro, or a tram diameter. If, according to Chvátal, the underground line proves necessary and the railway variant is chosen, construction could potentially begin in four to five years, provided funding is secured, based on optimistic proposals. While the railway variant could allow the city to draw funds from the state, in the case of the tram diameter, the city would be the investor. According to Chvátal, it would then be a question of whether the city would have the necessary funds. The costs for the underground railway are in the billions. Brno has an annual budget of around 15 billion.

The underground railway has been discussed in Brno for decades. It is intended to connect the future main station at the site of the current lower station with the line to Tišnov in Královo Pole or Řečkovice and is expected to significantly alleviate the overloaded tram lines in the north-south direction. Many experts point out that without the underground railway, it will be very complicated to service the new main station, which is expected to cost tens of billions, and transport between the current and future main stations will be very dense and could collapse. A new station is necessary because the existing one is no longer sufficient in terms of capacity.