The return of trams to Wenceslas Square calls for the replacement of the panels at the metro

Prague - Before the extension of the tram tracks from Prague's Vinohradská Street to Wenceslas Square, the plates under the roadway at the A Museum metro station will need to be replaced. Significant interventions in the station are not expected. This was reported to journalists today by the mayor's deputy Adam Scheinherr (Prague For Itself). The construction of the tram line is expected to begin in 2022 and is estimated to cost 262 million crowns. The tracks between the historic and new buildings of the National Museum have already been laid. Trams stopped running in the square at the beginning of the 1980s.

"What will be replaced there are the distributing plates under the roadway, and we anticipated that. There will be no major intervention into the metro vestibule. This (the construction of the tram line) is not jeopardized by that. I hope we will start building in 2022," said Scheinherr.

The so-called distributing plates distribute pressure to multiple points. According to previous statements from representatives of the transport company (DPP), the plates were damaged by long-term very intensive traffic on the north-south main corridor.

Trams are set to return to the square during the overall reconstruction of its upper part. The city is currently preparing documentation for the zoning decision. The DPP has already laid blind tracks during a recent reconstruction of the area between the National Museum and the former Federal Assembly, which will be used when extending the line in the square.

It is unclear whether a track will also be created from the rails crossing Wenceslas Square in its center towards Můstek. However, Prague will have a foundation built in the upper part for a possible extension of the tracks during the reconstruction of the lower half. The Institute of Planning and Development (IPR) is preparing a study for the transformation of the entire so-called fortification promenade from Národní Street to Revoluční. "One of its tasks is to investigate this possibility (to extend the tracks to Můstek)," said the mayor's deputy Petr Hlaváček (TOP 09).

City officials today ceremoniously began the reconstruction of the lower part of the square. Workers will appear on site on Thursday, when they will begin fencing the construction site. The actual reconstruction work will then start on Monday, April 20. The pedestrian space will be expanded at the expense of cars, and features such as drinking fountains or greenery will be added. The reconstruction will cost approximately 330 million crowns and is expected to be completely finished by December 2021.