Prague will select the designer for the terminal in Smíchov at the beginning of the year

Prague - The leadership of Prague wants to select the designer of a new transport terminal at Smíchov station at the beginning of next year. By the end of the year, it aims to have the offers of interested parties collected. This was stated to journalists today by the mayor's deputy Adam Scheinherr (Prague Yours). The project costs are 160 million crowns, the exact amount will depend on the outcome of the tender. The terminal in Smíchov will allow transfers between the metro, trams, trains, and suburban connections. The station building will be renovated and a fourth platform will be added. Estimated costs are several billion crowns.

"We have announced the contract for the general designer, the envelopes should be submitted by the end of the year, and sometime at the beginning of next year we will select the designer. It is a unique connection of all modes of transport. We are following the example of Western cities where such transport 'hubs' are being created,” said Scheinherr.

The terminal will have several levels. The first level is Nádražní Street, where there will be underpasses from the railway to the platforms. The second level is the station, which will be at the same level as today, and above the station will be a terminal for suburban and long-distance buses. The metro will be located beneath the terminal. All levels will be interconnected. "We are convinced that the way to make public transport more attractive is to bring all different types of transport to one place so that passengers can transfer very easily,” said Lukáš Tittl from the Institute of Planning and Development (IPR).

Changes are also expected in the space in front of the station, where the extensions of the old station building will be demolished, which will be renovated. The tram tracks will be moved closer to the station. In addition to the current tram stops, city buses will also stop there newly. Nádražní Street will be passable in front of the station only for taxi vehicles or cars in the K+R (Kiss and Ride) system, where a vehicle can stop, drop off passengers, and leave immediately. To the south of the old station building, a new headquarters for the Railway Infrastructure Administration (SŽDC) will be created.

On the northern side of the terminal, there will be a P+R parking lot for a thousand cars. Access to the P+R will only be possible from the city ring road. There will also be a footbridge over the railway, connecting Smíchov, Radlice, and the developing district of Smíchov City, which is being built between the station and Na Knížecí. Public transport buses will operate in the future at Na Knížecí, but they will not have a terminus or parking there.