At the A Jiřího z Poděbrad metro station, a complete renovation has begun

Prague – Complete reconstruction started today at the Jiřího z Poděbrad station of the Prague Metro A line, during which new elevators will be created for wheelchair users and parents with strollers, the transport company (DPP) will replace escalators, and penetrations and other parts of the station will be repaired. The repairs will last over two years, and from January 2023, the station will be completely closed for ten months. This was communicated to journalists by Deputy Mayor Adam Scheinherr (Praha Sobě) and DPP General Director Petr Witowski. The repairs will cost the company 1.29 billion crowns and are expected to finish in February 2024. Jiřího z Poděbrad station will be the 47th barrier-free station out of a total of 61.

"The renovation of Jiřího z Poděbrad station is this year's largest investment project within the repairs of transport infrastructure in the metro. Based on an agreement with Prague 3 and DPP, we merged three different projects into one, which is indeed larger and longer, but we will do everything at once – we will build new elevators, replace escalators, and renovate the station and its vestibule. This is the most acceptable version for all parties," said Scheinherr.

Workers began today in the park next to the church along Vinohradská street, collecting topsoil and handing over the construction site to the construction company. "We are starting today, and all the work that will take place for barrier-free access will be work that will be more or less hidden from the public. There will be restrictions on the surface, but a significant part of the station's reconstruction will take place behind the scenes," said Witowski. After the first layer of soil is removed, archaeologists will come to the site.

The company will start the repairs by constructing new elevators for barrier-free access to the station. Two pairs of elevators will serve the passengers. The first will take them from the platform to the transfer corridor, and from there, they will take another set of elevators to the surface on Vinohradská street at the level of the tram stop. The connecting corridor between the elevators will be 60 meters long. Most of the work will take place during operation, which will only be interrupted when breaking through the station's ceiling.

Workers will also reconstruct or replace the utilities and lighting, remove penetrations, replace the air conditioning system, and repair damaged parts of the cladding and flooring. Geotechnical monitoring of the excavated work will also be performed, meaning monitoring of the subsoil, and the condition of buildings, networks, and facilities related to the construction will be assessed.

The final phase of repairs will be the replacement of escalators. Since the station has only one exit, it will be closed for ten months and trains will pass through it starting January 2023. The ceiling breakthrough for the elevators and the replacement of the escalators will be carried out simultaneously.

The company is preparing to repair other stations. Along line A, these include Flora, Hradčanská, or Želivského. It is currently renovating the vestibule and replacing escalators at the Anděl station on line B in the exit towards Na Knížecí, where passengers can only exit towards the intersection at Anděl. In recent years, stations like Jinonice on line B and Opatov on line C have been repaired. DPP is also continuously replacing sleepers on line C or modernizing the signaling equipment.

DPP is the largest city company that operates the metro, trams, buses, or funiculars. It employs approximately 11,000 people. The city finances the operation of the company through so-called compensations. Last year, 14.6 billion crowns were allocated from the city budget for DPP, and this year, 15.3 billion crowns.