Czech Railways have begun the demolition of unused buildings at the lower station in Brno

Brno – České dráhy have begun the demolition of long-unused buildings at the lower station in Brno. This is an area where a new main train station in Brno is planned for the future, but construction will not start until at least 2028. This year’s May tragedy, in which eight people burned to death in an abandoned construction cabin on a nearby Czech Railways site, accelerated the decision to demolish. Czech Railways do not want a similar tragedy to recur, said the company spokesperson Vanda Rajnochová to ČTK.

So far, the low building next to the ticket office on Rosická Street has been demolished, and the adjacent building featuring typical railway architecture from the second half of the previous century is gradually being torn down as well. For several years, the large four-story building next door has had boarded-up windows and doors. "We are carrying out the demolition work for the reclamation and overall improvement of the area. Moreover, we still have the ticket office building, which we want to offer for commercial lease," Rajnochová stated.

Various modifications have already been made to the station and its surroundings in the past by the Railway Administration and the city because the station was utilized during major outages at the main station. For one year, international long-distance trains also departed from here. However, to this day, it remains more or less a neglected area where some homeless people have gathered and continue to gather. This year, passenger trains travel from here towards Zastávka u Brna due to the repair of the bridge over the Svratka River.

The station, formerly also known as Rosické, was established as part of the coal railway from Brno to Rosice in 1856. For part of its history, it was connected to the main station via a link. However, in the last decades, it has long ceased to serve passenger traffic and has been a freight bypass through Brno, allowing freight trains to avoid the main station.