New station in Ústí n. O. is unlikely to be built, no one wants to repair the old one

Ústí nad Orlicí - Ústí nad Orlicí is at risk of having nowhere to stop trains. Although opponents of the new train station building managed to prevent the demolition of the old structure, no one has yet committed to repairing it. Locals reject the new station, and its construction is currently unlikely, as ČTK found out. The modernization of the track, including the new station, was originally set to cost 2.4 billion crowns.
    The Railway Infrastructure Administration (SŽDC), which plans to straighten the railway line, will only build a small building for technical facilities and will not build a new station. Czech Railways, which owns the construction from the late 19th century, also does not plan to allocate funds. "Czech Railways does not need this object. Its size corresponds to the time of its creation more than 100 years ago when there were apartments for employees, large facilities for various types of shipments, check-in, restaurants, and so on at the station. Modern travel and railways today have a completely different character," stated Czech Railways spokesperson Petr Šťáhlavský.
    SŽDC also says that modernizing the old building is not part of its investment plan. The company was supposed to build a new station, but since the public does not want it, it will not build it, said SŽDC spokesperson Pavel Halla to ČTK.
    The civic association We Will Not Give Up the Station! led by Martin Kadrman managed to persuade the Ministry of Culture some time ago to declare the building a cultural monument. They now want to negotiate with SŽDC for it to purchase and repair it. Czech Railways allegedly offers it for 15 million crowns, which SŽDC does not want to accept. "If the station remains the property of Czech Railways, it will not invest a single crown into it. For us, this is a mandate to continue negotiating for SŽDC to buy the building, but for a reasonable price," said Kadrman.
    The ČD spokesperson stated that the company is indeed considering selling the station, but did not provide a price. "The same is happening with railways abroad, where dozens to hundreds of station buildings are being sold that no longer serve rail transport and have been abandoned by railway workers in favor of new modern stops," Šťáhlavský said.
    Halla also pointed out that access for transport vehicles to the station is still not technically resolved. The placement of the building in the track area is unfortunate in this regard, he added. The building was created according to the design of architect Rudolf Frey. The structure, with an H-shaped floor plan and stone cornices, is built of facing bricks, and the upper floors are made of less common half-timbered construction.