Czech Railways is trying to sell the train station at Prague's Vyšehrad

Prague - Czech Railways is trying to sell the historical station building in Prague at Vyšehrad. Interested parties can apply for the selection process until the end of May. The railway company is likely to know the new owner around the turn of August and September, spokesman Ondřej Kubala informed ČTK today.
    Czech Railways did not specify how much money the sale of the dilapidated building should bring them. “We want to negotiate the sale price, which is why we are not publishing any estimates,” said Kubala. The civic association Friends of Old Podskalí claims, however, that there is a figure of 40 million crowns in the selection process. The company also did not disclose the criteria that will be assessed when selecting a new owner. However, interested parties can purchase them. The railway does not impose any conditions that would restrict the use of the building. According to the spokesperson, the future owner should be aware that it is a cultural monument.
    The manager of the company Nádraží Ivan Mečl has reservations about the sale of the building. “It is very strange because when we were interested in buying it, it was not possible,” he told ČTK today. He believes that this case could involve corruption. The company rented the Art Nouveau building from Czech Railways in 2000, intending to create a modern cultural center there. However, a year later, the former state company transformed into the joint-stock company Czech Railways and the state enterprise Administration of Railway Transport. The tenants did not succeed in reaching a new agreement with the successor organizations. According to Mečl, the company spent millions on preparing the reconstruction. They are suing for damages at the District Court for Prague 1.
    The handling of the monument is also criticized by the civic association Friends of Old Podskalí. “Czech Railways has allowed the building to deteriorate to the brink of destruction. Unresolved ownership relations are not an excuse for the current lamentable condition of the building,” stated the chairwoman of the association, Eliška Valdová. The second district had also sought the property, suggesting a gratuitous transfer to the railways. “The fate of the property is not indifferent to us,” said the mayor of Prague 2, Jana Černochová, to ČTK today. “We are concerned that business activities in the building will not be in conflict with the zoning plan, that there won’t be, for example, a casino.” According to the mayor, the railways promised that they would take this into account in the selection process. According to the association, the municipal district wanted to create a cultural and social center in the building.
    Czech Railways has been looking for tenants for the historic building since the early 1990s. Trains have not stopped at the Vyšehrad station on the route between Prague and Pilsen since the 1960s. In the extensive station building, ČD wants to retain only the spaces necessary for the management of railway traffic and sell the rest.