The construction of the new tram line on Wenceslas Square will begin on June 29

Prague - Construction of a new tram line in the upper half of Prague's Wenceslas Square will begin on June 29 this year and will last for three years. Trams will not operate across the square between Vodičkova and Jindřišská streets from this date until September 30, a total of three months. Jan Šurovský, the technical director of the transport company (DPP), said this today. The cost of building the track from the National Museum to the middle of the square will amount to 1.24 billion CZK. The first step will be the construction of a branch and connection from the current tram line in the middle of Wenceslas Square, with work progressing towards the museum. During the construction, cars will be allowed to drive in both directions but only in one lane of Wenceslas Square.

Construction will begin with the mentioned three-month detour in Vodičkova and Jindřišská streets, during which the DPP will first repair the track in Vodičkova between the square and Palackého Street. At the same time, workers will repair the ceiling slab of the A-line metro station Můstek, which is located under the tracks. Afterwards, switches and a branching from the current track upwards across the square will be constructed.

"In the summer, construction will start on the relocation of engineering networks on Wenceslas Square. Specifically, the construction of a retention basin for water, which will be underground under the space where the historic trams are currently located (in the square). Later, preparations will begin for the repair of the ceiling slab of the C-line metro station Muzeum," said Šurovský. During the detour, provisional turning loops will be created in Vodičkova and Jindřišská closer to the square. "We will try to get as close as possible to the construction site," Šurovský stated.

The DPP will construct the tram line directly in the square from the middle of the square towards the National Museum. The exact schedule of work will still be coordinated between the company and the construction firm. In the tender, they also need to find a company that will build the tracks from the museum to Vinohradská and Škrétova streets. "This is the second construction (the first is the tracks in the square), but it is authorized and has a valid building permit," added Šurovský.

During the construction of the tracks across the main road, according to the director, it is expected that two of the three lanes will remain open for vehicles. However, in this case as well, the exact course of work and schedule will still be created. After the completion of the line, trams will not affect car traffic at all, as traffic lights and pedestrian crossings are already in place at the intersection points.

Trams operated in the upper part of the square until 1980, and the decision to bring them back was made by the previous city leadership. Compared to the original state, trams will run along the sides of the square, and there will be a promenade in the middle. The city also plans to reduce car traffic in the square.

Wenceslas Square is 682 meters long and approximately 60 meters wide. In 2020, reconstruction of the lower part of the square began, which the city has already completed. Then, work continued on two smaller areas by the tracks from Jindřišská to Vodičkova Street, which had already been prepared for the construction of the tram line in the upper section.