SŽDC wants to restore the building of the Plzeň train station

Plzeň - The Czech Railway Infrastructure Administration (SŽDC), which took over the main train station in Plzeň from Czech Railways in July this year, is prepared to renovate the monumentally protected Art Nouveau building as soon as possible to meet European travel standards. By the end of the year, the management of SŽDC will meet with the new regional representation and the city hall and wants to know if this is a priority transportation hub for them. Pavel Surý, the general director of SŽDC, stated this to ČTK.

The Plzeň station, whose comprehensive renovation could require up to one billion crowns using European funds, is preliminarily included in the first dozens of strategic stations that SŽDC intends to focus on. According to Surý, this could be achieved by 2020.

Surý would welcome it if the Plzeň Region, the city, and SŽDC signed a memorandum outlining their shared intentions. "We haven't discussed this much with the current leadership of the regional government in recent years," he said. Surý believes that Plzeň should be a priority in the region.

SŽDC has a preliminary plan for the renovation of more than 200 stations in the Czech Republic; it has taken over a total of over 1500. "These will be the worst stations, but with the highest passenger frequency. Plzeň certainly fits that description," he said. The State Transportation Infrastructure Fund is prepared to prioritize funding for strategic buildings. SŽDC will focus on transfer points where 80 percent of passengers pass through the stations.

If the region and Plzeň state that they consider the main station a strategic hub, SŽDC will start preparing for reconstruction next year. Plzeň has already announced that it wants to build a transfer terminal on the adjacent Šumavská street, where an underpass from the platforms is already being constructed. The city is waiting for the announcement of grant calls.

"If there will be an investment from the city or the region into an integrated transport system next to the station, I would support that. Then the reconstruction will definitely be a priority," he said.

Once SŽDC decides on the reconstruction, a technical analysis will be conducted. It will be more complicated due to the building's heritage protection. "We will spend such resources that the station looks nice," promised Surý.

For several years, SŽDC has been investing in the Plzeň hub into track systems, platforms, and underpasses. A total of around 6.5 billion crowns will be spent on five constructions by the end of 2022, mainly from EU funds. This December, it will complete the comprehensive reconstruction of the eastern part of the station, namely the directions towards Prague and Most, and four platforms, all for 1.8 billion crowns.

In the spring of next year, a two-year renovation of two Mikulášská bridges will begin for 1.3 billion crowns; the contractor will be known by the end of the year. Another construction in the Plzeň hub will be the rerouting of the Domažlice line for 1.6 billion crowns, for which SŽDC is completing the project this year and has purchased most of the land. This can run in parallel with the previous construction of the bridges, Surý said. The last project will be the exit to České Budějovice and a sorting station, for which there is currently a project intention.