SŽDC is planning a roofed walkway over Masaryk Station

visualization: Jakub Cigler Architects

Prague - The Railway Infrastructure Administration (SŽDC) wants to build a roof over the Prague Masaryk Station with a vestibule, which will allow people to shorten their way through the center of Prague. Originally, an underpass was planned under the tracks. The total investment costs for the modernization of the station are around 1.66 billion crowns. SŽDC announced this in a press release today.

SŽDC has now tasked the preparation of the project plan and the updating of the documentation for the modernization and completion of the station. After the project plan is approved, the documentation for the zoning decision can be completed. SŽDC plans to announce the tender during August. The estimated processing time for the documentation is 18 months, so the zoning decision can be expected in the middle of 2019. According to the server Lidovky.cz, construction could ideally begin in 2022.

The roof will connect the individual platforms and the streets Na Florenci, Hybernská, and Opletalova. The design of the eastern vestibule, covering the platforms above the station, is based on the variant of the background study of the station roofing, known as the Swallow, developed by the companies Sudop Praha and Jakub Cigler Architects.

The documentation will address the arrangement of the vestibule at Masaryk Station, including the number and placement of escalators, staircases, and elevators. It will also deal with the placement of orientation and information systems, spaces for passenger check-in, waiting areas, and furnishings. It will further address the function of pedestrian connections to the surrounding streets.

The area of Masaryk Station is a unique location in the center of Prague, which is integrated into the urban structure and is also in direct contact with other Prague and non-Prague areas thanks to its railway connections. "The study's design respects and utilizes the uniqueness of the location. It emphasizes the advantage of maintaining train service to the city center and ensuring barrier-free connections between the de facto isolated neighborhoods of Prague today, namely Josefov, Nové Město, Karlín, and lower Žižkov," said the Mayor of Prague, Adriana Krnáčová.