Study: Both variants of the Brno train station will cost the same money

Brno - Both variants of the construction of the new railway station in Brno will cost roughly the same amount of money. Experts estimate that both would cost 20 billion crowns. This amount does not include the costs of connecting the station to the high-speed rail network. The conclusions of the study commissioned by the state were presented today by representatives of the city and the civic coalition "Station in the Center."
    The city has been advocating for the variant located further from the center near the Svratka River, while activists want the station to remain in the center. The state will choose between both variants. According to Brno's Deputy Mayor Robert Kotzian (ODS), the state has begun commissioning a feasibility study. After its completion, an investment plan for the project will be developed, the approval of which by the Ministry of Transport will mean a factual decision by the state regarding the project variant.
    According to Kotzian, the state should decide next year. "I will support the variant that the state chooses and pays for," Kotzian reiterated today.
    Discussion about the relocation of the station in Brno began before World War II, and the current debate started at the beginning of the millennium. If the station were to be located about 800 meters south of the current one, construction could start as early as 2018, while the variant under Petrov is considered because of its lesser development to be several years later.
    The variant under Petrov, advocated by the Civic Coalition "Station in the Center," brings several problems according to the city. For example, it is only the variant of the relocated station that is included in the urban plan. The station under Petrov would limit residential areas in the South Center, it would be necessary to relocate engineering networks, and the impact of the project on the city's transportation and technical infrastructure would need to be assessed. A part of the project also involves the necessity of building tunnels under the historical core of the city.
    In connection with the location of the Brno station, the initiative of the civic alliance "Referendum 2014" was formed, which is trying to call for a referendum on the station's location in the timing of the autumn municipal elections. Activists reject both the river variant and the location under Petrov. According to them, it is necessary to start the entire project completely from scratch.
    This is disagreed with by the city hall and the activists from the civic coalition "Station in the Center." Its spokesperson Matěj Hollan stated today that the current variants have been worked on for a long time. "Coming up with the idea that everything is wrong means that the station would never be built," said Hollan. According to Kotzian, two variants are technically possible, no other exists. A referendum would cause timing issues. "It is unpleasant, but a fatal problem is not a referendum," added Kotzian.