Prague - Prague will continue preparations for the new metro line D to Písnice. Unlike the original plans, the metro will be technologically similar to the current lines, which could lower construction and operating costs by several billion. This was decided today by the city council, said Tereza Králová, spokesperson for the Prague city hall, to ČTK. Prague wants to simultaneously build an approximately eight-kilometer section from Pankrác to Depo Písnice. It is still unclear whether a transfer station will be built at Pankrác, and if the line to Písnice will be a separate route, or if it will just be a branch of the current line C. A final decision should be made by Králová next year. The costs of constructing the section will depend on this decision. They could range from 24.69 to 28.98 billion crowns. Prague aims to obtain funding from the EU for the construction in the next programming period. The D metro project has completed documentation for the zoning permit and at the beginning of November received a favorable opinion in the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process. The preparation of the project has thus far cost 465 million crowns. The project preparation for the Prague Public Transport Company is done by Metroprojekt, and engineering supervision is conducted by the firm Inženýring dopravních staveb (IDS). According to the material that the city council discussed today, it is not easy for the transport company to terminate the contracts unilaterally. If Prague were to halt work on the preparation of metro line D, it could lead to legal disputes with suppliers. "The amount of potential damages arising from the unilateral withdrawal of the transport company from valid contracts would be considerable," the material states. According to Metroprojekt's estimates, construction could begin in 2015. Next year, Prague should allocate 193 million crowns for further preparation. However, the approved budget for the metropolis next year does not include any funds for these purposes. In addition to the section from Pankrác to the south, a phase is also planned between náměstí Míru and Pankrác in the future. The new line D should measure over ten kilometers and serve several neighborhoods in the areas of Krč, Lhotky, Libuš, Nové Dvory, and Písnice, as well as other catchment areas. It should relieve line C. However, if built only from Pankrác to the south, it will not provide a transport alternative to the Nuselský bridge, which will need to be repaired in the future. Prague is also currently expanding metro line A from Dejvická to Motol, which is expected to be completed in 2014.
The English translation is powered by AI tool. Switch to Czech to view the original text source.