New station in Brno is to be without "subway", the city is against it

Brno/Prague - The government today took note of a document from the Ministry of Transport regarding the relocation of the main train station in Brno to the Svratka River at a cost of tens of billions of crowns. However, the document does not include the construction of an underground railway similar to the metro, which is an issue for the Brno city hall. The city wants the government to reject the ministry's decision and to build the railway simultaneously with the train station. The underground railway, known as the diameter, is expected to help connect the train station to the public transport system.

The Ministry of Transport is now tasked with preparing a detailed analysis of the financing for the relocation of the train station by the end of the summer for Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO).

The construction of a new train station in Brno has been discussed for 90 years, and it is a pressing and sensitive issue for the city. The current train station in Brno does not have sufficient capacity for the operation. Decisions were made about construction in the city center under Petrova Hill, near the current station, or relocating it one kilometer to the Svratka River. The South Moravian Region, Brno, and some experts supported the relocation. In contrast, people called for construction under Petrova Hill in two referendums, but due to low turnout, the referendums were invalid. The document that the government had on the table today includes the relocation.

The Ministry of Transport’s option, which does not account for the construction of the underground railway, was criticized today by Brno politicians. According to Deputy Mayors Petr Hladík (KDU-ČSL) and Matěj Hollan (Žít Brno), without the underground railway, the city will not be able to transport passengers from public transport to the relocated train station and back. The current capacity of trams is already at its maximum.

Therefore, Brno wants to ask the government to reconsider the proposal for the relocation of the train station without the railway. Next week, after the return of Mayor Petr Vokřál from ANO from vacation, the city council will hold an extraordinary session for this reason. It is set to agree on a text for the Ministry of Transport and the government. "The diameter is a necessity, and Babiš's government is going against the people with this decision. I regret that the ANO movement, which had the best conditions to advocate for the underground railway as a joint investment with the new train station, could not negotiate this with its party leader and Prime Minister Andrej Babiš," Hladík told ČTK.

According to the Ministry of Transport, the chosen solution does not exclude the construction of the diameter in the future. The office has tasked the Railway Infrastructure Administration to investigate the construction of an underground railway line. The SŽDC will also examine the technical and economic solutions for the relocation of the railway node, including the main train station in Brno. The results of the study should be available in a few months, according to SŽDC spokesperson Kateřina Šubová.

The approved location of the Brno railway node involves utilizing the existing route for freight transport. This means that both freight and passenger train services will be channeled into one multi-track corridor.

The one-corridor option has already been criticized by representatives of freight carriers, who are concerned about insufficient capacity for freight trains.

Minister of Transport Dan Ťok (for ANO) is expected to prepare a detailed analysis of the project financing by the end of the summer. "This is a huge expenditure, involving enormous sums; I want to have a more detailed overview of what is to be invested and in what way," Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) stated after the government meeting.

The relocation of the train station will cost over 40 billion, with an additional two billion allocated for urban infrastructure. Another 20 billion is anticipated in the future for high-speed rail lines. The diameter is estimated to cost billions of crowns, sometimes up to 20 billion. It is still unclear when construction might begin, with the most optimistic estimates suggesting a time after 2020.

In recent years, there has been a significant increase in passengers, and the reconstruction is urgent. Currently, more trains cannot fit into the station during peak times.

The regional authority in South Bohemia will issue the territorial decision for the construction of the Brno train station. According to the Department of Regional Development, Urban Planning, and Building Code, this could happen in a few weeks. The South Bohemian Regional Office has been dealing with the case for over a year.