In Pilsen, a two-year modernization of the train station will begin in October for 1.3 billion CZK

Plzeň - A two-year modernization of the passenger train station in Plzeň will begin in October, with the main part being the reconstruction of two railway bridges over Mikulášská Street. The entire area in front of the station will also be revitalized, and the tram line will be reconstructed. This project is valued at 1.3 billion crowns excluding VAT, with the investor being the Administration of Railway Transport Paths (SŽDC). The City of Plzeň's share as a project partner will be 90 million crowns. The city council approved the allocation of this sum from the city budget. Petr Náhlík, the Deputy Mayor for Transport, stated this to ČTK today (KDU-ČSL).

"The project preparation has been completed, which took ten years. A tender for a contractor is expected to be announced in March," he said. Preparatory work could ideally begin in July.

"Everything is based on the fact that the new stations must be barrier-free. Platforms for directions to Cheb, Domažlice, and Klatovy will be at the height of the upper station hall floor, but we must lower the tracks, bridge structures, and Mikulášská Street," Náhlík said. All structures will be 80 centimeters deeper, which will affect all networks.

"The condition of the bridges does not meet the required parameters, both in terms of load capacity and spatial arrangement under the bridges. Therefore, they will undergo a complete reconstruction," said Pavel Šindelář, the technical deputy mayor (ODS). The northern bridge, which is closer to the center, will be expanded from 25 meters to almost 40, while the second bridge towards Petrohrad will be widened from 15 to 26 meters.

"The city has decided that since we are already going into this construction, we will reconstruct everything," Náhlík said. In the area in front of the station, which is municipal, there will be historical granite paving. All trolleybus lines will be reconstructed, and a new trolleybus route will be created on Železniční Street over the bridge above the station, which will connect the new depot on Karlova Street with the entire network of routes, thereby reducing the costs for transport companies.

Parking spaces will be added in front of the station. Tram tracks will be separated from traffic lanes for cars. New platforms and an underpass will be constructed with a connection to the planned bus terminal.

"First, one bridge must be removed, and then all lines, Cheb, Domažlice, and Klatovy, will be transferred to the second bridge. The same will be repeated for the second bridge," Náhlík stated.

The construction will restrict traffic in Plzeň, with the first disruptions expected in January 2017. Trams will operate on one track, and trolleybuses will use a detour route. Detours for cars are designed parallel to Mikulášská Street. Mikulášská and Slovanská will be opened to cars by the end of August 2018.

The zoning decision for the construction has been in place since 2009, but the project has been changed several times according to the demands of the police and heritage preservation authorities. Engineering networks in the underpasses of the bridges have not been repaired for the last 100 years, Náhlík added.