Praha 6 wants a fully underground variant of the airport track

source: praha-kladno.cz

Prague - The leadership of Prague 6 will request that the track from Masaryk Railway Station to the airport runs in a tunnel in the section between Dejvice and Veleslavín. This was agreed upon today by the local council. In response to a CTK inquiry, Deputy Mayor Petra Kolínská (SZ) stated this. The original project does not account for a fully underground variant. According to the Railway Infrastructure Administration (SŽDC), such a construction would be 3.3 billion crowns more expensive. Currently, costs are estimated between 18 and 22 billion crowns.
    "Considering the history of the project, knowledge of local conditions, and the state of preparations, we consider a fully underground variant to be the most suitable," Kolínská stated. The councilors also request that SŽDC prioritize the construction of the section between Veleslavín, the airport, and Kladno. "Additionally, we want an architectural competition for the design of the stops and a working group from Prague and the Central Bohemian Region to address the system of park-and-ride facilities," she added. The resolution approved today should be confirmed by the Prague 6 council at the end of June.
    The current project assumes an underground section through Stromovka. The stations Dejvice and Veleslavín should also be below the surface. "SŽDC currently does not prefer a fully underground track, mainly due to low economic efficiency," stated the company spokesman Jakub Ptačinský. "The underground variant does not present a timeline shift for the start of construction, neither negative nor positive," he added. SŽDC is reportedly completing a feasibility study, which will then be approved by the Ministry of Transport. According to earlier information, this should happen in the fall. The construction should be completed by the end of 2023, when the programming period of the Transport 2 program ends.
    The track is expected to follow the route of the so-called Buštěhrad Railway. The journey from Masaryk Railway Station in the city center to the airport should take a maximum of 25 minutes, and to Kladno about half an hour. In Prague, the train would run at a maximum speed of 60 to 80 kilometers per hour, and outside the city even at 120 kilometers per hour. Trains from Masaryk Railway Station could operate at five-minute intervals during peak hours, with every second train continuing to Kladno at the Hostivice stop, while the remaining ones would go to the airport.