The feasibility study for the modernization of the station will be next year

Brno - The feasibility study comparing the advantages and disadvantages of the various options for modernizing the railway hub in Brno, with a relocated station and one near Nádražní Street, will not be completed until the first quarter of next year. CTK was informed of this today by the spokesperson for the Czech Railways Administration (SŽDC), Marek Illiaš. Whether and what partial information the public will learn from the study before the October referendum will be decided by the Feasibility Study Committee for the Brno railway hub.

It is already clear that the residents of Brno who will go to the referendum will not have as much expert information available as was assumed when the referendum was announced. Just a year ago, it was expected that the entire study would be completed in time for the referendum.

"Once it is completed, it will be discussed with both expert and political bodies, specifically at SŽDC, the Ministry of Transport, with representatives of Brno, the South Moravian Region, and other affected institutions," Illiaš stated.

Currently, a part of the study is being done to evaluate the options in terms of investment costs, economic efficiency, and to make transport forecasts. "At this moment, no partial outputs can be published, as consultations and refinements of proposed solutions are ongoing based on interim comments," Illiaš said. At the time of the referendum, the study is expected to be in the phase of preliminary assessment of economic efficiency.

The referendum will take place together with regional elections on October 7 and 8. The initiative for holding the referendum comes from the alliance Referendum 2016, which advocates for the preservation of the station in the center and is against relocation. The feasibility study assesses the option of a relocated station behind Zvonařka, approximately one kilometer to the south. The central option represents a station that would have its core roughly in the location of today's Malá Amerika near platforms 5 and 6. In the study, the names Řeka and Pod Petrovem are used.

The relocated station is advocated by another group of activists led by Robert Kotzian and his organization Brno+. He supported it already when he was Deputy Mayor and representative of the ODS party, a position he still holds. To promote the relocated option, the South Moravian Regional Council awarded him a grant of nearly 200,000 crowns. Kotzian has also attempted several times to challenge the referendum in court, but has never succeeded. Both sides accuse each other of manipulation.

The political representation of Brno is more reserved. The Green Party and the Žít Brno movement have long wanted the station in the center; the Christian Democrats are not entirely definite, and the ANO party had not expressed its opinion for a long time but recently surprisingly proposed a new option of two stations.

In the referendum, people will answer two questions. The first asks whether they want Brno to take steps to modernize the hub with a station near Nádražní Street. The station is currently located there, and a station with its core in the Malá Amerika area would also be built nearby. In the second question, the organizers ask whether the best solution for modernizing the station should be determined through a series of open design competitions.

For the results to be binding for the city, at least 35 percent of voters must participate. The city is currently displaying the results of the architectural competition at the House of Art, allowing people to see proposals for solutions for the area both with a station in the center and with a relocated one.