The construction of the train station in Brno is facing further delays, SŽDC requests an exemption

Brno - The construction of the railway station in Brno faces further delays. The Railway Administration and Transport Infrastructure (SŽDC) has requested an exemption from the protection of specially protected species from the South Moravian Region. According to critics of the station's relocation, the proceedings could take up to a year, and possibly longer if participants appeal. SŽDC was clearly aware of the issue regarding the lack of exemption for 11 months when the court suspended the zoning proceedings for the station's construction for procedural reasons in January 2009. This was stated today by Svatopluk Bartík, a councilor from Brno-Center, who has long criticized the construction of the new station.
    "Based on previous recommendations, a request for exemption was indeed submitted. Currently, the necessity and justification for this step and its possible impacts on the zoning proceedings are being legally analyzed. We will provide more information on this issue on Monday," said SŽDC spokesperson Pavel Halla.
    SŽDC submitted the request together with the Brno City Hall. However, mayor Roman Onderka (ČSSD) did not want to comment further on the case. "First of all, I think it is a question for the investor. I just hope and assume that all requirements have been sufficiently elaborated so that there should not be such a drastic delay as in the previous period. That means a year or more," Onderka told ČTK. He reminded that the period in which SŽDC can apply for financial resources from European funds is very short. The grants can only be drawn until 2013.
    The costs for the construction of the new railway station and related investments are estimated at 20 billion CZK. The construction was originally planned to start in 2006 and finish in 2015. However, since 2007, only a parking station has been built, which is not related to the controversial project of relocating the main station from the center of Brno.
    SŽDC aimed to obtain a zoning permit again by the end of last year so that construction could begin this year. However, the missing documents, which led the Regional Court in Brno to suspend the proceedings for procedural reasons last January, were submitted only in December. Therefore, the actual construction could start at the earliest in the second half of 2011. According to Bartík, another delay of up to a year is now threatened.
    "If SŽDC follows the law in requesting a zoning decision, it will have to wait for the end of the exemption proceedings to resume the suspended zoning proceedings. As a result, it is clear that the start of construction will be postponed, and therefore also the potential application for the provision of eight billion crowns from the European Operational Programme Transport," Bartík said.
    According to Miroslav Patrik from Children of the Earth, the chance of obtaining billions of crowns from the Operational Programme Transport is already only hypothetical. According to him, the project does not meet basic conditions, such as the assessment of alternative options. This shortcoming was already pointed out by the Supreme Audit Office in 2007.
    The reconstruction of the Brno railway is one of the most debated construction projects in Brno in the last decade. The project plans to relocate the main station about 800 meters south of its current location in the center of Brno, which is opposed by many opponents, led by the association Children of the Earth, the Green Party, and the civic organization Train Station in the Center.
    The location of the new station was chosen by the then city leadership more than ten years ago. In 2002, it was also approved by the Social Democratic government. In 2004, the city hall organized a referendum. However, only a quarter of voters participated, making the vote invalid, despite more than 80 percent of people opposing the relocation.