The repair of the Negrelli Viaduct will allow for higher train speeds

Prague - The renovation of the Negrelli Viaduct will increase the capacity of the line, and the maximum allowed speed of trains here will rise from the current 40 to 60 kilometers per hour. The number of trains passing through the bridge per hour will also increase. At today's ceremonial start of the bridge reconstruction, Pavel Surý, the director of the Railway Infrastructure Administration, stated this. The extensive reconstruction of the mid-19th-century bridge will cost 1.44 billion crowns, nearly a billion of which can be reimbursed from European funds. The entire reconstruction will take over three years.

Due to the repairs, a new stop, Vltavská, will be created, where most trains will terminate, and from where passengers will transfer to the metro. However, some trains will terminate at the stations in Bubny or Dejvice. A specific disruption schedule will be ready by June 19, two weeks before the actual repairs and the associated disruptions begin.

The renovation of the viaduct is part of the planned modernization of the line to Kladno with a branch to Prague Airport, which is often referred to as a high-speed rail line. The repairs will include, in addition to the replacement of the railway track and substructure, the dismantling of two bridge arches on Štvanice, which were damaged by flooding in 2002 and whose condition experts describe as critical.

Activists from the Reconstruction of the State association took advantage of Prime Minister Sobotka's presence at today's event. They presented the Prime Minister with a symbolic trillion crown banknote in connection with Friday's parliamentary meeting concerning a change that would allow for an expansion of the powers of the Supreme Audit Office. Its audits could thus focus on the remaining trillion of public funds annually, the association stated. However, it is uncertain whether the parliament will reach the relevant proposals.

The Negrelli Viaduct is the first railway bridge in Prague across the Vltava and the second oldest standing bridge in Prague. It connects Masaryk Station across Štvanice Island with Bubny. The 1100-meter-long structure, which was put into operation in early June 1850, is a protected monument. It is named after engineer Alois Negrelli, who supervised the construction.