Petition for the Orlickoústecké train station has more and more supporters

Ústí nad Orlicí - More and more people are fighting for the preservation of the historic railway station building in Ústí nad Orlicí. Its demolition and realignment of the railway line is planned for next year. This is not liked by more than 1,800 people who signed a petition for its preservation. This is reported by the website www.stop-demolici.wz.cz.
    "I was pleasantly surprised that the (petition) received such support and response, because there are hundreds of people today who supported this protest. And I firmly believe that we will be able to save the building," said the petition's author Martin Kadrman from Červená voda to ČTK.
    The Neoclassical station building was designed by architect Rudolf Frey in 1874 and has a floor plan in the shape of the letter H. The Railway Infrastructure Administration (SŽDC) will move the track closer to the Tichá Orlice and build a new station building. According to SŽDC spokesman Pavel Halla, the investment is very necessary. The station and tracks do not meet current standards.
    "The authors of the petition can only be told that if they find 20 million crowns for a complete reconstruction, while still not ensuring that it meets the requirements in terms of safety and passenger comfort, then we can talk about it. But it would only be a needless delay, which must come eventually, meaning moving the station closer to the Orlice," said Halla.
    The petition is a last resort. Kadrman sought for the railway building to become a cultural monument. However, he was unsuccessful. He sent the application to the Ministry of Culture too late, and officials argued public interest. Kadrman disagrees with the outcome and has therefore sent a letter to the Minister of Culture Václav Jehlička.
    The investor plans to start construction in November 2009, with completion around June 2013. There is no budget yet. Although SŽDC has not officially presented the new design of the station, it is already available on the petition's announced website. The original project did not appeal to the committee of invited architects who had the opportunity to review the designs. According to the mayor of Ústí nad Orlicí, Richard Pešek, they managed to negotiate that the steel and glass construction will have more glazing and a wavy roof.
    Architect Přemysl Kokeš, who was invited to the committee, defends the old building. "The building is very interesting and it would be good if it were preserved. It could be sensitively complemented with modern elements," said Kokeš, who believes that preserving the building is possible.