The hall of Prague's Main Station is finished

Prague - The arrival hall of Prague's Main Train Station has been completely renovated after four years of work. After a brief cleanup, workers will open the last closed southern part to travelers later this week, where retailers will soon begin to move in. This was said today by Martin Hamšík, a representative of the investing company Grandi Stazioni, in response to a question from the Czech News Agency (ČTK).
    "Construction is complete; we are currently just in the final cleanup, and barriers could possibly be removed as early as Tuesday," said Hamšík. The space for travelers will nearly double, among other things, a second pair of escalators between the lower and upper parts of the hall will be launched, elevators will be put into operation, and the southern tunnel leading to the platforms will be opened.
    Retailers will gradually take over the new spaces, and according to Hamšík, their moving process will take several months. "However, there are two or three tenants who want to move in before the pre-Christmas period," said Hamšík.
    In the coming days, for example, the Sephora perfume shop should welcome its first customers. In contrast, the move of the Billa supermarket will take longer due to the extent of the assortment. The size of commercial space at the station will increase by 5,000 square meters to nearly 10,000 square meters.
    The renovation of the largest railway station in the country began exactly four years ago. During this time, what was once an uninviting dark hall has transformed into a modern commercial and transportation center.
    The final phase of the renovation, costing a total of one billion crowns, will be the restoration of the Art Nouveau Fantova building, which has lost its original function since the 1970s after the opening of a new building towards Vrchlického Gardens. Grandi Stazioni is currently negotiating with potential tenants of the Fantova building, where a restaurant or exhibition hall is expected to be created, so that they can tailor the renovation to their needs, so to speak.
    The Main Train Station is the busiest in the Czech Republic, with up to a million "train" passengers passing through every month, along with tens of thousands of people coming from the subway or the street. For its investment, Grandi Stazioni has leased the entire area for 30 years.