On Wenceslas Square, the construction of the tracks has officially begun, work will start on Saturday

Prague – The Prague Public Transport Company (DPP), representatives of the city, and builders officially began the construction of the tram line at Wenceslas Square. The actual work will start on Saturday, June 29, and will last for three years. The cost of building the approximately 550-meter-long line from the National Museum to the middle of the square will amount to 1.24 billion crowns. At the same time, the company will repair the tracks in Vodičkova and Jindřišská streets, where trams will not operate for the entire summer and will return at the end of September.

The entire upper half of the square will undergo changes, with new rows of trees added and the space for pedestrians enlarged at the expense of cars. An underground retention tank for capturing rainwater will be created. The repair will be based on a project from the architectural office Cigler Marani Architects, which was created in 2005.

"The tram line was an integral part of Wenceslas Square for 96 years. It was abolished without replacement in 1980. It soon became clear that while the metro is great for traveling long distances, local public transport in the city center has deteriorated,” said the technical director of DPP, Jan Šurovský, today.

Construction will begin with a three-month closure in Vodičkova and Jindřišská streets. DPP will first repair the line in Vodičkova between the square and Palackého street. At the same time, workers will repair the ceiling slab of metro station A Můstek, which is located under the tracks. They will then build switches and a branch from the current line upwards across the square. After its completion, trams will return to the track crossing the square.

Simultaneously, workers will begin to repair the ceiling slab of metro station C Museum. They will occupy part of the north-south highway as they start removing the roadway, subgrade, and insulating layers. Drivers will travel through two lanes instead of the current three.

"(The line) will enable new routing of the lines that will provide quick connections,” said Deputy Mayor Zdeněk Hřib (Pirates). In the future, three tram lines will run across the square. One line will arrive from Újezd and Národní třída, go up to the statue of Saint Wenceslas, and continue to Vinohradská street. The second will connect Vršovice with the upper part of Wenceslas Square, then descend into Jindřišská. "The third is line number 6, which will have a shorter route and will reach I. P. Pavlova through Wenceslas Square,” said Martin Šubrt, deputy director of the Ropid organization, which plans Prague's public transport.

Trams operated in the upper part of the square until 1980, and their return was decided by the previous city leadership. According to earlier information, they will run along the sides of the square, with a promenade in the middle. The city also plans to reduce car traffic in the square.

Wenceslas Square is 682 meters long and approximately 60 meters wide. In 2020, the reconstruction of the lower part of the square began, which the city has already completed. Afterwards, work continued on two smaller areas from Jindřišská to Vodičkova streets, which were already a preparation for the construction of the tram line in the upper part.