The construction of metro line O will be overseen by the municipal working group

Prague - The potential construction of a new line of the Prague metro O will be overseen by a city council working group. Members will include politicians, transport experts, urban planners, sociologists, economists, and representatives of city companies. The group's task will be to prepare the conditions for creating a feasibility study. The new line is planned by the current city leadership in connection with the future development of mainly brownfields. This is evident from a document approved by Prague councillors today. The Prague Public Transit Company (DPP) and the city leadership began construction of the first part of the new line D from Pankrác to Písnice last week. The costs for this part of the line are estimated at around 14.5 billion crowns and the work will last 90 months, or about seven and a half years. It will then be followed by a segment to Nové Dvory, and the last segment to Písnice will be created. The total costs, accounting for inflation, are expected to be 52.09 billion crowns.

"I expect that by the end of summer we will have the assignment (study) ready so that the feasibility study can be approved in September. Following that, in my opinion, it will take two years to process," said Adam Scheinherr, the Deputy Mayor (Prague Together), to ČTK today.

The new circular line O will be required for construction on land in former industrial areas outside the center. It will be necessary to connect them with public transport in such a way that people do not have to travel through the congested city center. Several areas in Prague have emerged that meaningfully compete with the traditional Prague center in terms of job opportunities and service concentration. These include Smíchov, Pankrác, and Karlín. In the future, areas like Bubny-Zátory in Prague 7, the former Žižkov Freight Station, Vysočany, or the northeastern part of the city, such as Letňany, Kbely, or Čakovice, will also become similar centers.

In terms of car transport, the connections will be ensured by road rings. In public transport, similar connections are either nonexistent or do not have sufficient capacity. The city promotes the metro due to its reliability, large capacity, and eco-friendliness. "At the same time, the metro is the mode of transport with the highest competitiveness against individual transport, which is primarily due to speed and reliability," the document states.

The new line O is expected to run from Nádraží Podbaba through Dejvice, Smíchov, Dvorce, Budějovická, Vršovice, Žižkov, Vysočany, Čakovice, and then in the second phase return north back to Podbaba. According to the initial proposal, it would measure around 36 kilometers and have 23 stations. The circular line has appeared in the metro construction plans since the 1980s.

The group's task will be to prepare a specific assignment for the feasibility study. The group will consist of experts in transport, spatial development, sociologists, social geographers, architects, or economists. Representatives from city companies such as Ropid, which plans Prague's public transport, DPP, or the Institute of Planning and Development (IPR) will be invited. The city will also discuss the plan with the state Railway Administration.