Green: The rapid transit in Brno is real, the relocation of the station will not delay it

Brno - If the city rapid transit system is built in downtown Brno simultaneously with the relocation of the Brno train station, the project will not be delayed. This was shown by a legal analysis commissioned by the Greens. Today, it was presented to journalists by the mayor's deputy Martin Ander (Green Party). Any potential delays are important due to European funds. Substantial subsidies are expected to come to the Czech Republic from the EU until 2013.
    The reconstruction of Brno's railways has been proposed since the 1990s such that the current train station will be moved less than a kilometer to the south. The project was initiated by previous administrations in Brno led by the Civic Democrats. However, the Greens and a large group of opponents disagreed. In a referendum, residents of Brno expressed their preference for the station to remain in the city center. However, revising the project would most likely hinder obtaining European subsidies, and thus the rapid transit project was created. While it does account for relocating the station, the new station would be connected to the old one by a new double-track line. Passengers on regional trains would thus disembark as they do today in the city center.
    According to city councilor Jana Drápalová (SZ), this will be beneficial for 85 percent of the tens of thousands of passengers who commute by train to Brno every day.
    The rapid transit project brings administrative complications: it will be necessary to re-evaluate the construction's impact on the environment and also change the territorial decision. "The process, if started on time, should not take longer than one year," said Ander. Meanwhile, the company working on it is supposed to prepare the project for a building permit by January 15, 2010, stated the deputy.
    The rapid transit line is to run from the old station to the new station along a new city boulevard. It will be elevated above ground level. People disembarking from the train at a stop that is planned to be in the middle of the boulevard could exit to the first floor of buildings on both sides of the street, said the deputy. Another stop is planned at the existing station, with another near Radlas Street.
    The technical aspects of the rapid transit are currently being examined by the Railway Infrastructure Administration as the investor of the project. The Deputy Minister of Transport Vojtěch Kocourek has previously stated that the rapid transit would enhance the Brno hub reconstruction project and introduce an entirely new type of light rail transport to the Czech Republic. Thus, only regional services would enter the center of Brno, while passengers on high-speed trains like Pendolino or EuroCity would disembark at the new station further from the center. According to Kocourek, Brno and the South Moravian Region can serve as a model for other regions in the public regional transport organization system, which relies precisely on the railway network. According to Governor Stanislav Juránek, the region utilizes railways more than any other region in the country.
    The reconstruction of Brno's railways is expected to cost around 20 billion crowns. The construction start date is not known and has been postponed several times in the past.